General ward and pneumonia size as predictors of noninvasive ventilation failure.

Introduction: Shortage of intensive care beds has led to more frequent use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) outside respiratory units, and data on NIV efficacy and safety on general wards is lacking.

Objective: The aim was to identify potential predictors for NIV failure.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of patients treated with NIV at the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina from 2009 to 2013.