Complications and Pharmacologic Interventions of Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation During Critical Illness

To review the fundamentals of invasive positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) and the common complications and associated pharmacotherapeutic management in order to provide opportunities for pharmacists to improve patient outcomes. A MEDLINE literature search (1950-December 2017) was performed using the key search terms , and . Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations. : All English-language original research and review reports were evaluated. IPPV is a common supportive care measure for critically ill patients. While lifesaving, IPPV is associated with significant complications including ventilator-associated pneumonia, sinusitis, organ dysfunction, and hemodynamic alterations. Optimization of pain and sedation management provides an opportunity for pharmacists to directly affect IPPV exposure. A number of pharmacotherapeutic interventions are related directly to prophylaxis against IPPV-associated adverse events or aimed at reduction of duration of IPPV. Enhanced knowledge of the common complications, associated pharmacotherapy, and monitoring strategies facilitate the pharmacist's ability to provide increased pharmacotherapeutic insight in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit setting.