Abstract

HINCAPIE DIAZ, Gustavo Adolfo; ECHEVERRIA GONZALEZ, Claudia Liliana  and  ENCISO BAHAMON, Luisa Fernanda. Uses of the high-flow nasal cannula for COVID-19 patients. How does it work an what are its indications? Is it safe or patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure?. Rev. Med [online]. 2020, vol.28, n.2, pp.25-34.  Epub June 04, 2021. ISSN 0121-5256.  https://doi.org/10.18359/rmed.5101.

The coronavirus type 2 or SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has held a threat over the world health system due to its high transmission rate. It has made all health systems collapse and has made evident the lack of resources such as personal protection elements and the insufficient number of ventilators for the number of patients with acute hypoxic respiratory failure. Due to his reasons, many options have been used as an alternative, being the high-flow nasal cannula one of them since it allows administering high-flow oxygen to patients with severe hypoxemia. During the COVID-19 epidemic, a concern has raised regarding this device as well as all devices used to supply oxygen to patients since they produce great dispersion of aerosols and the possibility of transmission to clinicians and staff. This has led to reject its use and give almost exclusive preference to the use of conventional cannula and mechanical ventilators with infected patients. Therefore, this study reviews the literature dealing with the high-flow nasal cannula action mechanisms, its safety for health workers and its indications for patients infected with COVID-19, as well as its advantages; amongst them, being a device that prevents the use of mechanical ventilators, which can be useful when managing patients in case of an epidemiological peak in Colombia.

Keywords : COVID-19; pandemic; hypoxic respiratory failure; high-flow nasal cannula.

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