Engineering

Insufflation

Ventilation (architecture)

Surgery

Nasal cannula

Heart rate

Cannula

Anesthesia

Mechanical engineering

Respiratory rate

Blood pressure

Oxygen therapy

Respiratory failure

Hypercapnia

Internal medicine

COPD

Respiratory system

Medicine

Respiratory disease

Lung

Critical Care Explorations

To evaluate the effect of high-flow oxygen implementation on the respiratory rate as a first-line ventilation support in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure.Multicenter, prospective, analytic observational case series study.Five ICUs in Argentina, between August 2018 and September 2019.Patients greater than or equal to 18 years old with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, who had been admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of hypercapnic acute respiratory failure, were entered in the study.High-flow oxygen therapy through nasal cannula delivered using high-velocity nasal insufflation.Forty patients were studied, 62.5% severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After the first hour of high-flow nasal cannula implementation, there was a significant decrease of respiratory rate compared with baseline values, with a 27% decline (29 vs 21 breaths/min; p < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant reduction of Paco2 (57 vs 52 mm Hg [7.6 vs 6.9 kPa]; p < 0.001) was observed. The high-flow nasal cannula application failed in 18% patients. In this group, the respiratory rate, pH, and Paco2 showed no significant change during the first hour in these patients.High-flow oxygen therapy through nasal cannula delivered using high-velocity nasal insufflation was an effective tool for reducing respiratory rate in these chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure. Early determination and subsequent monitoring of clinical and blood gas parameters may help predict the outcome.

High-Flow Oxygen Therapy Application in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients With Acute Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure: A Multicenter Study