| Summary: | Antonio M Esquinas,1 Marco Confalonieri21Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Morales Meseguer, Murcia, Spain; 2Department of Pneumology, University Hospital of Trieste, Trieste, ItalyDetermination of prognosis of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a key cornerstone for health cost, organization, systems, and influences determinations of rationale in the use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV).1 However, systemic complexity of AECOPD makes it difficult to establish a "gold and perfect" prognosis model.1 Recently, a growing number of biological parameters such as anemia and health performance score evaluations are becoming decisive factors for NIV decisions.2In an interesting study, Haja Mydin et al determined that anemia, and performance status based on World Health Organization performance status (WHO-PS) were independent prognostic markers in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) due to AECOPD.3 The authors considered the major findings were that WHO-PS >3, and anemia, were the best prognostic factors to identify patients unlikely to benefit from NIV.We believe that the study makes a useful contribution to the establishment of predictors of poor prognosis in patients with AECOPD and it may help to make appropriate decisions for rational use of NIV. However, there are some concerns related to this study.View original paper by Haja Mydin and colleagues.
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