During bronchoscopy hypoxemia is commonly found and oxygen supply can be delivered by interfaces fed with high gas flows. Recently, the high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) has been introduced for oxygen therapy in adults, but they have not been used so far during bronchoscopy in adults. Forty-five patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups receiving oxygen: 40 L/min through a Venturi mask (V40,N=15), nasal cannula (N40,N=15), and 60 L/min through a nasal cannula (N60,N=15) during bronchoscopy. Gas exchange and circulatory variables were sampled before (FiO2= 0.21), at the end of bronchoscopy (FiO2= 0.5), and thereafter (V40, FiO2= 0.35). In 8 healthy volunteers oxygen was randomly delivered according to V40, N40, and N60 settings, and airway pressure was measured. At the end of bronchoscopy, N60 presented higher PaO2, PaO2/FiO2, and SpO2than V40 and N40 that did not differ between them. In the volunteers (N60) median airway pressure amounted to 3.6 cmH2O. Under a flow rate of 40 L/min both the Venturi mask and HFNC behaved similarly, but nasal cannula associated with a 60 L/min flow produced the better results, thus indicating its use in mild respiratory dysfunctions.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Early nasal high-flow versus Venturi mask oxygen therapy after lung resection: a randomized trial.
