High-Flow Nasal Cannula using a Ventilator or NonInvasive Ventilation for Covid-19-Associated Acute Respiratory Failure |Biomedgrid

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) for acute respiratory failure significantly reduces overall mortality, intubation requirements and nosocomial pneumonia, and improves patient comfort when compared with noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and conventional oxygen therapy (COT) [1]. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still ongoing [2]. A randomized trial of HFNC in patients with severe COVID-19 reported significantly lower respiratory rates and improved arterial/inspired oxygen (P/F) ratios at 6 hours, and a reduction in ICU stay, with HFNC versus COT [3,4]. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines also recommend HFNC as oxygen therapy over COT and NIV [5]. However, HFNC is associated with respiratory aerosol generation, although the amount and concentration of aerosol produced at a distance of 10 cm from the mouth by HFNC, nasal cannula, oxygen mask, and normal breathing are reported to be similar [6].