Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Description of the experience with the use of high-flow nasal cannulas in adult patients with COVID-19, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio – Bogotá, D.C. 2020 to 2022

Descripción de la experiencia con el uso de cánulas nasales de alto flujo en pacientes adultos con COVID-19. Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá D.C. 2020-2022




Section
Research article

How to Cite
Escamilla Osorio MG, Moreno Carrillo A, Cubillos Rojas JD, Tellez Ariza LD, Rodríguez Prada C, Acevedo Guiot A del P, et al. Description of the experience with the use of high-flow nasal cannulas in adult patients with COVID-19, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio – Bogotá, D.C. 2020 to 2022.
rev. colomb. neumol. [Internet]. 2025 Jul. 30 [cited 2025 Aug. 13];37(2):39-57. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.30789/rcneumologia.v37.n2.2025.987

Dimensions
PlumX
license
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Ninguna publicación, nacional o extranjera, podrá reproducir ni traducir sus artículos ni sus resúmenes sin previa autorización escrita del editor; sin embargo  los usuarios pueden descargar la información contenida en ella, pero deben darle atribución o reconocimiento de propiedad intelectual, deben usarlo tal como está, sin derivación alguna.


Mario Germán Escamilla Osorio,

Especialista Medicina de Urgencias 


Atilio Moreno Carrillo,

Especialista en Medicina Interna. Advanced Fellowship in Emergency Medicine. Magíster en Administración en Salud. Director del programa de especialización en Medicina de Urgencias Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.  Director Unidad de Urgencias Hospital Universitario San Ignacio


Julián David Cubillos Rojas,

Residente III Año Medicina de Urgencias Pontificia Universidad Javeriana


Laura Daniela Tellez Ariza,

Médico General 


Catalina Rodríguez Prada,

Coordinadora Médica Urgencias


Andrea del Pilar Acevedo Guiot,

Urgencióloga


Freyberson Enrique Niño Mahecha,

Urgenciólogo


Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the use of non-invasive therapies such as high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) to manage hypoxemia, aiming to reduce the need for invasive mechanical ventilation. Objective: To describe the experience at Hospital Universitario San Ignacio with the use of HFNC in adult patients with COVID-19 and its impact on the need for orotracheal intubation and mortality.

Methods: Retrospective observational study including 604 patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis by RT-PCR or antigen testing. Clinical, paraclinical, and outcome variables, such as the need for intubation and mortality, were analyzed.

Results: The cohort mainly consisted of male patients (62.1%) with a median age of 62 years. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (36.9%), diabetes (18.7%), and obesity (17.9%). Most patients started HFNC 53 hours after diagnosis. The ROX index decreased from 16.4 to 4.6 before intubation. Overall, 58.8% of patients required intubation; the global mortality rate was 24.2%, higher among intubated patients (31.5%) and those admitted to the ICU (26.4%). Among non-intubated patients, 86.3% survived, and 73.1% did not require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Conclusions: The use of HFNC may be associated with a reduced need for intubation and a higher survival rate in patients with COVID-19, particularly when implemented early in the disease course. These findings support the role of HFNC as an effective tool in managing acute respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19.


Article visits 92 | PDF visits 1


Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
  1. Giwa AL, Desai A, Duca A. Novel 2019 coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): An updated overview for emergency clinicians. Emerg Med Pract. 2020;22(5):1-28. PMID: 32207910
  2. Cook TM, El‐Boghdadly K, McGuire B, McNarry AF, Patel A, Higgs A. Consensus guidelines for managing the airway in patients with COVID ‐19: Guidelines from the Difficult Airway Society, the Association of Anaesthetists the Intensive Care Society, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Anaesthesia junio de 2020;75(6):785–99. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15054
  3. Berlin DA, Gulick RM, Martinez FJ. Severe Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(25):2451-60. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmcp2009575.
  4. Lodeserto FJ, Lettich TM, Rezaie SR. High-flow Nasal Cannula: Mechanisms of Action and Adult and Pediatric Indications. Cureus. 2018;10(11). doi: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.3639.
  5. Gershengorn HB, Hu Y, Chen JT, Hsieh SJ, Dong J, Gong MN, et al. The impact of high-flow nasal cannula use on patient mortality and the availability of mechanical ventilators in COVID-19. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2021;18(4):623-31. doi: https://doi.org/10.1513/annalsats.202007-803oc.
  6. Nishimura M. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy devices. Respir Care. 2019;64(6):735-42. doi: https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.06718.
  7. Nishimura M. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in adults. J Intensive Care. 2015;3(1):1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40560-015-0084-5.
  8. Mauri T, Wang YM, Corte FD, Corcione N, Spinelli E, Pesenti A. Nasal high flow: Physiology, efficacy and safety in the acute care setting, a narrative review. Open Access Emerg Med. 2019;11:109-20. doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/OAEM.S180197.
  9. Cook TM, El-Boghdadly K, McGuire B, McNarry AF, Patel A, Higgs A. Consensus guidelines for managing the airway in patients with COVID-19: Guidelines from the Difficult Airway Society, the Association of Anaesthetists the Intensive Care Society, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Royal College of Anaesthetist. Anaesthesia. 2020;75(6):785-99. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15054.
  10. Agarwal A, Basmaji J, Muttalib F, Granton D, Chaudhuri D, Chetan D, et al. 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. Can J Anesth . 2020;67(9):1217-48. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-020-01740-2
  11. Whittle JS, Pavlov I, Sacchetti AD, Atwood C, Rosenberg MS. Respiratory support for adult patients with COVID‐19. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. 2020;1(2):95-101. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12071.
  12. Vianello A, Arcaro G, Molena B, Turato C, Sukthi A, Guarnieri G, et al. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy to treat patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure consequent to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thorax. 2020;75(11):998-1000. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-214993.
  13. Wang K, Zhao W, Li J, Shu W, Duan J. The experience of high-flow nasal cannula in hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in two hospitals of Chongqing, China. Ann Intensive Care. 2020;10(1):0-4. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13613-020-00653-z.
  14. Frat J-P, Thille AW, Mercat A, Girault C, Ragot S, Perbet S, et al. High-Flow Oxygen through Nasal Cannula in Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure. N Engl J Med. 2015;372(23):2185-96. doi: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1503326.
  15. Teng XB, Shen Y, Han MF, Yang G, Zha L, Shi JF. The value of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in treating novel coronavirus pneumonia. Eur J Clin Invest. 2021;51(3):1-6. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.13435.
  16. Blez D, Soulier A, Bonnet F, Gayat E, Garnier M. Monitoring of high-flow nasal cannula for SARS-CoV-2 severe pneumonia: less is more, better look at respiratory rate. Intensive Care Med. 2020;46(11):2094-5. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-020-06199-9
  17. Hu M, Zhou Q, Zheng R, Li X, Ling J, Chen Y, et al. Application of high-flow nasal cannula in hypoxemic patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Pulm Med. 2020;20(1):1-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-020-01354-w
  18. Singh A, Khanna P, Sarkar S. High-Flow Nasal Cannula, a Boon or a Bane for COVID-19 Patients? An Evidence-Based Review. Curr Anesthesiol Rep. 2021;11, 101-106. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-021-00439-4
  19. Pérez-Nieto OR, Guerrero-Gutiérrez MA, Deloya-Tomas E, Ñamendys-Silva SA. Prone positioning combined with high-flow nasal cannula in severe noninfectious ARDS. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):10-2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-020-2821-y
  20. Lu X, Xu S. Therapeutic effect of high-flow nasal cannula on severe COVID-19 patients in a makeshift intensive-care unit: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(21):e20393. doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000020393
  21. Calligaro GL, Lalla U, Audley G, Gina P, Miller MG, Mendelson M, et al. The utility of high-flow nasal oxygen for severe COVID-19 pneumonia in a resource-constrained setting: A multi-centre prospective observational study: HFNO for COVID-19 pneumonia. EClinicalMedicine. 2020;000:1-9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100570.
  22. Patel M, Gangemi A, Marron R, Chowdhury J, Yousef I, Zheng M, et al. Retrospective analysis of high flow nasal therapy in COVID-19-related moderate-to-severe hypoxaemic respiratory failure. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2020;7(1):1-11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2020-000650.
  23. Kharroubi SA, Diab-El-Harake M. Sex-differences in COVID-19 diagnosis, risk factors and disease comorbidities: A large US-based cohort study. Front Public Heal. 2022;10(March 2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1029190.
  24. Yau CE, Lee DYX, Vasudevan A, Goh KJ, Wong E, Ho AFW, et al. Performance of the ROX index in predicting high flow nasal cannula failure in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care. 2023;27(1):1-13. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-023-04567-7
  25. Mucha SR, Dugar S, McCrae K, Joseph DE, Bartholomew J, Sacha G, et al. Coagulopathy in COVID-19: Posted april 24, 2020. Cleve Clin J Med. 2020;87(5):461-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm. 87a.ccc024
  26. Giwa AL, Desai A, Duca A. Novel 2019 coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19): An updated overview for emergency clinicians. Emerg Med Pract. 2020;22(5):1-28. PMID: 32286766.
  27. Swenson KE, Hardin CC. Pathophysiology of Hypoxemia in COVID-19 Lung Disease. 2023 Jun;44(2):239-248. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccm.2022.11.007.
  28. Yau CE, Lee DYX, Vasudevan A, Goh KJ, Wong E, Ho AFW, et al. Performance of the ROX index in predicting high flow nasal cannula failure in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care. 2023;27(1):1-13. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13054-023-04567-7
  29. Terzic CM, Medina-Inojosa BJ. Cardiovascular Complications of Coronavirus Disease-2019. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2023;34(3):551-61. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2023.03.003
  30. Ospina-Tascón GA, Calderón-Tapia LE, García AF, Zarama V, Gómez-Álvarez F, Álvarez-Saa T, Pardo-Otálvaro S, et al. 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. JAMA. 2021 Dec 7;326(21):2161-2171. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.20714. Erratum in: JAMA. 2022 Mar 15;327(11):1093. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.1908.
  31. Frat JP, Marchasson L, Arrivé F, Coudroy R. High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and COVID-19-related respiratory failure. J Intensive Med. 2023;3(1):20-6.
  32. Hincapié Díaz GA, Echeverría González CL, Enciso Bahamón LF. Usos de la cánula nasal de alto flujo para pacientes con COVID-19. ¿Cómo funciona, cuáles son sus indicaciones? ¿Es segura en los pacientes con insuficiencia respiratoria aguda hipoxémica? Rev Med. 2021;28(2):25-34.
Sistema OJS 3.4.0.7 - Metabiblioteca |