Compared to noninvasive ventilation, high-flow oxygen therapy (HFNO) substantially improved the survival rate in coronavirus-infected people with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, according to the findings of a retrospective and comparative study published in “Annals of Medicine and Surgery”. Researchers aimed to compare the effectiveness of HFNO and noninvasive ventilation in 600 hospitalized people with severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Out of 600 volunteers, 265 volunteers were incorporated in the assessment. A total of 162 (61.10%) volunteers were managed with HFNO. The intubation rate was 49.7% (80 volunteers out of 162). Out of this, 63 died intubated (78.8%). Notably, 19.8% of non-intubated volunteers died (16/82). A total of 71 volunteers received noninvasive ventilation (26.8%), 33 volunteers (46.5%) needed mechanical ventilation. The in-hospital mortality in noninvasive ventilation-treated volunteers was 100%.

No difference was noted in the intubation rate. In the HFNO group, the difference in mortality outcome between the two groups substantially dropped. Thus, in people with COVID-19 elicited acute respiratory failure, HFNO is a simple ventilatory support to use, better-tolerated and leads to significant improvement in survival rates in comparison with non-invasive ventilation.