High-Flow Oxygen Therapy in Severe COVID-19

The use of high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula is better than conventional oxygen therapy in severe COVID-19, according to a recent study published in the JAMA Network.

The effect of high-flow oxygen therapy vs conventional oxygen therapy has not been established in the setting of severe COVID-19.

A group of researchers conducted a study to determine the effect of high-flow oxygen therapy through a nasal cannula compared with conventional oxygen therapy on the need for endotracheal intubation and clinical recovery in severe COVID-19.

Randomized, open-label clinical trial conducted in emergency and intensive care units in 3 hospitals in Colombia. A total of 220 adults with respiratory distress and a ratio of partial pressure of arterial oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen of less than 200 due to COVID-19 were randomized from August 2020 to January 2021, with the last follow-up on February 10, 2021. Patients were randomly assigned to receive high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula (n = 109) or conventional oxygen therapy (n = 111).

The co-primary outcomes were needed for intubation and time to clinical recovery until day 28 as assessed by a 7-category ordinal scale (range, 1-7, with higher scores indicating a worse condition). Effects of treatments were calculated with a Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for hypoxemia severity, age, and comorbidities.

Results

• Among 220 randomized patients, 199 were included in the analysis (median age, 60 years; n = 65 women [32.7%]).
• Intubation occurred in 34 (34.3%) randomized to high-flow oxygen therapy and in 51 (51.0%) randomized to conventional oxygen therapy (hazard ratio, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.39-0.96; P = .03).
• The median time to clinical recovery within 28 days was 11 (IQR, 9-14) days in patients randomized to high-flow oxygen therapy vs 14 (IQR, 11-19) days in those randomized to conventional oxygen therapy (hazard ratio, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.00-1.92; P = .047).
• Suspected bacterial pneumonia occurred in 13 patients (13.1%) randomized to high-flow oxygen and in 17 (17.0%) of those randomized to conventional oxygen therapy, while bacteremia was detected in 7 (7.1%) vs 11 (11.0%), respectively.

Thus, the researchers concluded that among patients with severe COVID-19, the use of high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula significantly decreased the need for mechanical ventilation support and time to clinical recovery compared with conventional low-flow oxygen therapy.

Reference

Effect of High-Flow Oxygen Therapy vs Conventional Oxygen Therapy on Invasive Mechanical Ventilation and Clinical Recovery in Patients With Severe COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial by Gustavo A Ospina-Tascón et al. published in the JAMA Network.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34874419/