High flow nasal cannula oxygenation in COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome: a safe way to avoid endotracheal intubation?

BACKGROUNDS: High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is an alternative therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed first to describe outcomes of patients suffering from COVID-19-related ARDS treated with HFNC; secondly to evaluate safety of HFNC (patients and healthcare workers) and compare patients according to respiratory outcome. METHODS: A retrospective cohort was conducted in French general hospital intensive care unit (ICU). Patients were included if receiving HFNC for hypoxemia (saturation pulse oxygen (SpO2) <92% under oxygen ⩾6 L/min) associated with ARDS and positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Main clinical characteristics and outcomes are described in patients: (a) with do not intubate order (HFNC-DNIO); (b) who did not need intubation (HFNC-only); and (c) eventually intubated (HFNC-intubation). Medians are presented with (1st-3rd) interquartile range. RESULTS: From 26 February to 30 June 2020, 46 patients of median age 75 (70-79) years were included. In the HFNC-DNIO group (n = 11), partial arterial oxygen pressure (PaO2)/inhaled fraction of oxygen (FiO2) ratio median worst PaO2/FiO2 ratio was 109 (102-172) and hospital mortality was 54.5%. Except the HFNC-DNIO patients (n = 35), 20 patients (57%) were eventually intubated (HFNC-intubation group) and 15 were only treated by HFNC (HFNC-only). HFNC-intubation patients presented higher worst respiratory rates per minute in ICU [37 (34-41) versus 33 (24-34) min, p < 0.05] and worsened ICU admission PaO2/FiO2 ratios [121 (103-169) versus 191 (162-219), p < 0.001] compared with HFNC-only patients. Hospital mortality was 35% (n = 7/20) in HFNC-intubation group, 0% in HFNC-only group with a global mortality of these two groups of 20% (n = 7/35). Among tests performed in healthcare workers, 1/12 PCR in symptomatic healthcare workers and 1.8% serologies in asymptomatic healthcare workers were positive. After review of each case, COVID-19 was likely to be acquired outside hospital. CONCLUSIONS: HFNC seems to be useful for COVID-19-related ARDS and safe for healthcare workers. ARDS severity with PaO2/FiO2 <150 associated with respiratory rate >35/min could be regarded as a predictor of intubation.The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

Asymptomatic bronchial aspiration of a video capsule.

Aspiration is a rare complication of video-capsule endoscopy. We report a case of asymptomatic aspiration of the capsule in a 90-year-old man. The diagnosis was obtained by the images taken by the capsule. Rigid bronchoscopy was used to remove the capsule. Recommendations to prevent this complication are: (1) Patients with swallowing disorders should have the capsule placed into the duodenum at the time of upper endoscopy. The capsule should never be placed in the stomach because of prolonged emptying times following endoscopy and IV sedation. (2) If a patient appears to have difficulty swallowing the capsule after two or three attempts, the capsule should be placed endoscopically. (3) When real-time capsule location is more readily available, the abdomen can be scanned after the initial ingestion to be sure that the capsule reached the stomach.