title: The role of high flow oxygen therapy in acute respiratory failure.
abstract: Acute respiratory failure represents one of the most common causes of intensive care unit admission and oxygen therapy remains the first-line therapy in the management of these patients. In recent years, high-flow oxygen via nasal cannula has been described as a useful alternative to conventional oxygen therapy in patients with acute respiratory failure. High-flow oxygen via nasal cannula rapidly alleviates symptoms of acute respiratory failure and improves oxygenation by several mechanisms, including dead space washout, reduction in oxygen dilution and inspiratory nasopharyngeal resistance, a moderate positive airway pressure effect that may generate alveolar recruitment and an overall greater tolerance and comfort with the interface and the heated and humidified inspired gases. However, the experience in adults is still limited and there are no clinical guidelines to establish recommendations for their use. This article aims to review the existing evidence on the use of high-flow oxygen via nasal cannula in adults with acute respiratory failure and its possible applications, advantages and limitations.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital del Mar-Parc de Salut Mar, Institut Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, España; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, España. Electronic address: jrmasclans@parcdesalutmar.cat.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Masclans
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital del Mar-Parc de Salut Mar, Institut Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pérez-Terán
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, España; Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Área General, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Roca
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000072601:Cannula; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D006813:Humidity; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D010100:Oxygen / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010166:Palliative Care; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012212:Rheology; D013696:Temperature; D015300:Ventilator Weaning; D014939:Work of Breathing
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Acute respiratory failure; High-flow oxygen therapy; Insuficiencia respiratoria aguda; Intensive care medicine; Medicina intensiva; Oxigenoterapia de alto flujo