High-flow nasal cannula therapy is as safe and efficacious as conventional modes of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in preterm infants, according to a meta-analysis in Pediatrics, reported by Medscape. The study also found HFNC therapy carries sharply lower odds of nasal trauma.
Researchers analyzed data from 1112 preterm infants that compared high-flow therapy with other modes of NIV, primarily nasal CPAP.
Main results showed that high-flow therapy was as efficacious as other modes of NIV, with statistically indistinguishable odds of failure of therapy whether it was used as a primary mode of support after birth or after extubation from mechanical ventilation.
“We feel that our data provide evidence to consider [heated humidified high-flow nasal cannula therapy] as a mode of respiratory support in preterm infants by clinicians,” write the investigators, led by Sarah J. Kotecha, BSc, SRD, from the Department of Child Health, Cardiff University, United Kingdom. “Caution needs to be exercised in extreme preterm infants because of the paucity of published data.”
High-Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy Safe in Preterm Infants
