Helium:oxygen versus air:oxygen noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation in patients exposed to sulfur mustard

Exposure to sulfur mustard (SM) causes a variety of respiratory symptoms, such as chronic bronchitis and constrictive bronchiolitis. This study assessed the effectiveness of noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation, adjunct with 79:21 helium:oxygen instead of 79:21 air:oxygen, in 24 patients with a previous exposure to SM presenting with acute respiratory failure. Both air:oxygen and helium:oxygen significantly decreased systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, dyspnea, and increased oxygen saturation (P values: .007, .029, .002, <.001, <.001, <.001, and .002 for air:oxygen, respectively, and <.001, .020, .001, <.001, <.001, <.001, and .002, for helium:oxygen, respectively). Moreover, helium:oxygen more potently improved systolic pressure, mean arterial pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and dyspnea (P values: .012, .048, <.001, <.001, and .012, respectively). The results of our study support the benefit of using helium:oxygen adjunct with noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation in patients exposed to SM with acute respiratory decompensation.