RESEARCH ARTICLE
Outcomes of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in the Management of Patients with Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pneumonia who are not Suitable for Invasive Ventilation
Hnin Aung1, *, Eleni Avraam1, Muhammad Ashraf1, Nawazish Karim1, Sidra Kiran1, Muhammed Naeem1, Srikumar Mallik1, Selva Panchatsharam2, George Tsaknis1, Raja Reddy1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2021Volume: 15
First Page: 23
Last Page: 27
Publisher ID: TORMJ-15-23
DOI: 10.2174/1874306402115010023
Article History:
Received Date: 14/7/2020Revision Received Date: 7/3/2021
Acceptance Date: 11/4/2021
Electronic publication date: 18/06/2021
Collection year: 2021
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background:
The optimum management of respiratory failure in patients with coronavirus (COVID-19) infections has been a challenge for physicians across the globe. Many scientific societies have suggested the use of CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) in severe cases in an effort to reduce invasive ventilation. We investigated mortality outcomes in patients who needed CPAP but were not suitable for invasive ventilation.
Methods:
We retrospectively evaluated the mortality outcomes of all consecutive COVID-19 cases with severe type 1 respiratory failure requiring FiO2 >0.6 who were admitted to our hospital between 12th March and 04th May’20. British Thoracic Society guidelines were followed for identifying patients needing CPAP. Their outcomes were recorded and compared with a similar group of patients who had oxygen as a ceiling of care. Prospectively collected data between 5th May and 7th June’20 in similar but smaller groups of patients was also analyzed.
Results:
A total of 104 COVID-19 patients with documented Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) decision required high fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) >0.6(to maintain peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2)> 92%(SpO2> 88% in COPD patients). Twenty-four patients received CPAP as the ceiling of care, with a mortality rate of 92.5%. The remaining 84 patients who were on oxygen as a ceiling of treatment had 91.7% mortality. Both population groups had a similar number of comorbidities but were less favorable in terms of age in the control group with standard O2 therapy than those who had CPAP support. Overall mortality outcomes from using CPAP therapy did not bring significant mortality benefit (p-value-0.89).
Conclusion:
CPAP did not appear to improve the survival of patients with severe respiratory failure due to COVID-19 related pneumonia and were not suitable for invasive ventilation. Further studies are warranted to adequately inform appropriate management strategies for this group of patients.
