Acute respiratory failure.

Respiratory failure is a severe impairment of pulmonary gas exchange, consequence of lung failure leading to hypoxaemia and/or pump failure causing hypercapnia. Acute respiratory failure (acute lung injury and asthma) or acute on chronic respiratory failure (COPD and chest wall disorders) are the two terms proposed to characterize different onset and development. Mechanical ventilation, is often a necessary life-saving treatment in many critically ill patients, it is associated with complications such as infection or barotrauma. Other innovative techniques are mask ventilation and proportional assist ventilation (PAV). The major aim of mask ventilation is to prevent complications related to tracheal intubation, particularly respiratory tract infections and barotrauma.