Respiratory failure & ventilation
Acute hYpErcapnic respiratory failure in The intensive care unit (ICU): A multicenter prospective observational study - The YETI study
An erratum to this article was published (Ann Intensive Care, 9 Jul 2026 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
Ten percent of patients admitted to the ICU with respiratory failure present AHcRF, primarily driven by chronic obstructive diseases and infections. Despite widespread NIV use, one-third of patients were treated with invasive ventilation.
Study context
- Population
- Adults admitted to ICU with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (PaCO2 > 45 mmHg and clinical signs of respiratory failure), France and Belgium, December 2021–June 2022of 20,482 ICU admissions
- Participants
- 856 adults
- Outcome
- Prevalence of AHcRF among all ICU admissions
Methodological details58 ICUs in France and Belgium
- 58 ICUs in France and Belgium
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHcRF) among all critically ill patients
4.9%
95% CI 4.6, 5.2
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
Prevalence of AHcRF among ICU patients admitted for acute respiratory failure (subgroup)
- Prevalence
- 12.5% (95% CI 11.8, 13.2)
Underlying disease
- COPD
- 56.3%
- OSA syndrome
- 18.5%
Causes of respiratory failure
- Infection
- 52.2%
- Cardiogenic pulmonary oedema
- 15.4%
Management
- Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) used
- 81.3%
- Invasive mechanical ventilation, mainly for coma or NIV failure
- 35.9%
ICU mortality
- ICU mortality
- 12.7%
Independent predictors of intubation (multivariable analysis)
- Lower pH, lower GCS, infectious etiology and higher SOFA score
Factors associated with ICU mortality
- Older age, lower BMI, active cancer and higher SOFA scores
Original publication
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