Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) refers to providing breathing and ventilatory support through the patient’s upper airway. Air with added oxygen is usually pumped with a mask or another similar device, without using an invasive artificial airway such as an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube.

The use of noninvasive ventilation has markedly increased over the past two decades, and noninvasive ventilation has now become an integral tool in the management of chronic respiratory failure within the home setting. The NIV is an alternative for invasive ventilation techniques which bypass the upper airway with a tracheal tube, laryngeal mask, or tracheostomy.

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