High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy is increasingly used for hypoxemic respiratory failure and is proving useful in avoiding or delaying intubation and mechanical ventilation. However, basic information regarding the physiologic effects of this method is missing. In this study, the effects of oxygen delivery by HFNC on oxygenation, ventilation and cardiovascular vital signs in patients with mild hypoxemic respiratory failure were evaluated.
Oxygen (O2) therapy delivered by means of High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) is being increasingly used. This device, capable of delivering high flow, oxygen enriched gas, has been shown to reduce intubation rates in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure. The primary components of HFNC are "nasal prongs" (or cannulae) that are inserted into the nostrils, a device which provides a warmed and humidified air / oxygen mixture and regulators that control oxygen concentration, temperature and total gas flow. Commercially available systems can deliver up to 40 - 60 liters per minute (LPM) of oxygen flow. This method of non-invasive oxygen delivery has several presumed important working principals. Firstly, the high flow rate may meet the patient's own inspiratory flow rate. This enables accurate delivery of a high fractional inspired concentration of oxygen (FiO2). Second, the high gas flow might also produce a certain degree of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). In addition, the heated and humidified gas might also wash out/reduce the physiological airway dead space of the patient. Furthermore, HFNC is more comfortable and might be better tolerated than other Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) devices, such as Bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP). This, in turn, can prolong the time the patient is comfortably connected to the HFNC device. Information regarding the basic physiologic influence of HFNC on oxygenation, ventilation and vital signs is missing in the literature. Patients with mild respiratory failure provide an opportunity to examine this topic. On one hand, these patients suffer from respiratory failure manifested by hypoxemia, on the other hand the respiratory failure is mild to the extent that removal of the conventional oxygen therapy (COT) will not lead to immediate respiratory collapse. This prospective study evaluates the physiologic effects of HFNC in 28 patients with mild respiratory failure.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
28
The patients with mild hypoxemia, defined as the need for conventional oxygen therapy (COT) using nasal cannula at 4-5 liters per minute (LPM) to maintain O2 Saturation \>90%, were commenced on HFNC therapy
Hadassah medical center
Jerusalem, Israel
The effect of changing flow rates generated by HFNC on oxygenation parameters of 28 patients with mild respiratory failure
Change in PaO2 in mmHg(Partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood) from baseline on nasal cannula and after giving gradually increasing flow rates to 60 Liters Per Minute on HFNC, at constant FiO2 of 40%.
Time frame: 60 minutes
The effect of changing flow rates generated by HFNC on ventilation parameters of 28 patients with mild respiratory failure
Change in PaCO2 in mmHg(Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood) from baseline on nasal cannula and after giving gradually increasing flow rates to 60 Liters Per Minute on HFNC, at constant FiO2 of 40%.
Time frame: 60 minutes
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