Effect of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy in Immunocompromised Subjects With Acute Respiratory Failure

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Various studies have been performed to examine the effect of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). However, the results were inconsistent. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of HFNC oxygen therapy in immunocompromised patients with ARF versus conventional oxygen therapy and noninvasive ventilation (NIV). METHODS: Relevant studies published prior to May 11, 2019, were systematically searched. The primary outcome was intubation rate; secondary outcomes were mortality (ICU mortality, in-hospital mortality, and 90-d mortality) and ICU-acquired infections. Data were pooled using the random effects model. RESULTS: Of 832 identified studies, 8 were eligible for inclusion in our analysis (N ‫؍‬ 2,167 subjects). HFNC was associated with lower intubation rates compared to conventional oxygen therapy (risk ratio [RR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-1.00, P ‫؍‬ .040), but we found no significant difference in the rate between HFNC and NIV (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.46-1.19, P ‫؍‬ .22). We also found that HFNC did not increase the risk of ICU-acquired infections (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.63-1.18, P ‫؍‬ .35). However, in comparison to other noninvasive therapies, HFNC exhibited no differences in ICU mortality (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.58-1.17, P ‫؍‬ .28), in-hospital mortality (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.74-1.15, P ‫؍‬ .48), or 90-d mortality (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.81-1.18, P ‫؍‬ .82). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that HFNC may be a feasible alternative to NIV, with lower intubation rates and no increased risk for ICU-acquired infections compared to standard oxygen therapy. However, HFNC did not appear to reduce mortality in immunocompromised subjects with ARF compared with other noninvasive therapies. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials should be performed to confirm these findings.

High-flow nasal cannula for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in patients with COVID-19: systematic reviews of effectiveness and its risks of aerosolization, dispersion, and infection transmission

“…Full-text review of 38 potentially eligible studies identified 20 eligible studies. Of these, 17 were systematic reviews (SRs) 15,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] and three were RCTs [41][42][43] (Fig. 1).…”

The experience of high-flow nasal cannula in hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in two hospitals of Chongqing, China

“…Therefore, a device that produces lesser number of droplets or aerosol is required. The exhaled air dispersion produced by HFNC was limited and the risk of hospital-acquired infection did not increase [19,20]. Therefore, the use of HFNC in NCIP patients is feasible.…”

The experience of high flow nasal cannula in hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus–infected pneumonia in Chongqing, China

“…Therefore, a device with less production of droplets or aerosol is required. The exhaled air dispersion produced by HFNC was limited and the risk of hospitalacquired infection did not increase [18,19]. Therefore, the use of HFNC in NCIP patients is feasible.…”