Abstract:Objective To explore the impact of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNC) on oxygen therapy, comfort level and swallowing function in patients with type I respiratory failure. Methods Forty-eight patients with type I respiratory failure registered from Department of Critical Care Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University between August 2016 and March 2017. The patients were randomized to two groups, each group contained 24 patients. The control group was treated with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV), the observation group was treated with HFNC. The respiratory frequency and oxygenation index at different time points (0, 2, 6, 24 and 48 h), and the differences in the comfort level, incidence of abdominal distension, swallowing function and nutrition support pathway during the process of treatment were compared between the two groups. Results After 48 h of treatment, the respiratory rate and oxygenation index were significantly improved in both groups (P < 0.05). HFNC was better than NPPV in the improvement of respiratory rate (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the improvement of oxygenation index between the two groups (P > 0.05). Compared with the NPPV group, the discomfort related to pain was less in the HFNC group (P < 0.05), also the incidence of abdominal distension was lower (P < 0.05). The swallowing function in the HFNC group was less affected in the process of treatment, the result of Kubota water drinking test was better than that in the NPPV group (P < 0.05). The proportion of oral feeding tended to be higher in the HFNC group but did not have statistical difference (P > 0.05). Conclusions Compared with NPPV, HFNC is associated with more comfort, and significantly reduced incidence of abdominal distension. HFNC could obviously improve the respiratory distress of the patients, swallowing function is less affected in the process of treatment.
