High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy during anesthesia recovery for older orthopedic surgery patients: A prospective randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND Hypoxemia is a common complication in older patients during postoperative recovery and can cause pulmonary complications.Therefore,reducing the incidence of postoperative hypoxemia is a clinical concern.AIM To investigate the clinical efficacy of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen(HFNCO)in the resuscitation period of older orthopedic patients.METHODS In this prospective randomized controlled trial,60 older patients who underwent orthopedic surgery under general anesthesia were randomly divided into two groups:those who used conventional face mask and those who used HFNCO.All patients were treated with 60%oxygen for 1 h after extubation.Patients in the conventional face mask group were treated with a combination of air(2 L)and oxygen(2 L)using a traditional mask,whereas those in the HFNCO group were treated with HFNCO at a constant temperature of 34℃ and flow rate of 40 L/min.We assessed the effectiveness of oxygen therapy by monitoring the patients’arterial blood gas,peripheral oxygen saturation,and postoperative complications.RESULTS The characteristics of the patients were comparable between the groups.One hour after extubation,patients in HFNCO group had a significantly higher arterial partial pressure of oxygen(paO_(2))than that of patients in conventional face mask group(P<0.001).At extubation and 1 h after extubation,patients in both groups showed a significantly higher arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide(paCO_(2))than the baseline levels(P<0.001).There were no differences in the saturation of peripheral oxygen,paO_(2),and paCO_(2) between the groups before anesthesia and before extubation(P>0.05).There were statistically significant differences in paO_(2) between the two groups before anesthesia and 1 h after extubation and immediately after extubation and 1 h after extubation(P<0.001).However,there were no significant differences in the oxygen tolerance score before leaving the room,airway humidification,and pulmonary complications 3 d after surgery between the two groups(P>0.05).CONCLUSION HFNCO can improve oxygen partial pressure and respiratory function in elderly patients undergoing orthopedic surgery under general endotracheal anesthesia.Thus,HFNCO can be used to prevent postoperative hypoxemia.

End-of-life home care of an interstitial pneumonia patient supported by high-flow nasal cannula therapy:A case report

BACKGROUND High-flow nasal cannula(HFNC)therapy and morphine continuous subcutaneous infusion(CSI)have been used to ameliorate dyspnea in non-cancer patients with end-stage respiratory diseases,including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial pneumonia,primarily in hospital settings.However,it is rare to perform home-based medical treatment using these.We observe a case to assess the feasibility of this treatment strategy.CASE SUMMARY Here,we report a case of a 75-year-old man who was diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia 11 years ago and was successfully nursed at home during his terminal phase for over 10 mo without hospitalization,by introducing domiciliary uses of HFNC and morphine CSI with a patient-controlled analgesia device.CONCLUSION Active utilization of HFNC and morphine CSI with patient-controlled analgesia device would substantiate successful end-of-life palliative home care of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia patients.