Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of besity on the efficacy of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in the patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods A total of 80 patients with stable COPD were admitted and divided into control group (BMI<25) and obesity group(BMI>30) according to BMI, with 40 patients in each group. Both groups were given the treatment of drug combined with NIV according to GOLD. The levels of arterial blood gas, C reactive protein(CRP) and fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO), COPD assessment test(CAT) score and 6 minute walking distance (6MWD), times of hospitalization were compared between the two groups. Results After the treatment with NIV, the level of PaO₂ increased, and the level of PaCO₂ decreased significantly in the two groups, especially in control group(P<0.05). After treatment, the level of CRP was significantly decreased in control group, but showing no significant change in obesity group. The level of FeNO was significantly lower in control group than that in obesity group (P<0.05). The score of CAT and 6MWD were significantly improved in obesity group after treatment, but were lower than those in control group (P<0.05). The time of hospitalization showed no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions The treatment of NIV can relieve the clinical symptoms of COPD combined with obesity. However, the COPD patients presenting with obesity get poorer treatment effect. Invasive ventilation is considered to be an alternative for obesitive COPD patients.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, non-invasive ventilation