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The Use of Heated, Humidified, High-flow Nasal Cannulas, and Length of Hospital Stay Among Extremely Preterm Infants
Dana Alzahrani1 , 2
Fawzeah Alenazi1 , 2
Sarah Altokhais2 , 5
Afnan Slemani2 , 5
Kamal Ali3
Raghad Alzahrani4
Abdullah M. Alanazi1 , 2 , 4
Taha Ismaeil1 , 2 , 4
Mohammed Alqahtani1 , 2 , 4
Saif Alsaif3
Saleh S. Algarni1 , 2 , 4
Authors Info & Affiliations
Abstract
Background
Extremely preterm infants (EPIs) often require advanced respiratory support to survive, and one such intervention is the heated, humidified, high-flow nasal cannula (HHHFNC). While the use of this cannula in EPIs has been studied, the relationship between its use and the length of hospital stay is an important yet unexplored research area that we aim to investigate in this study.
Methods
In a quantitative retrospective cohort study, data were extracted from an electronic database. The study included all EPIs younger than 28 weeks of gestational age admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022. The descriptive analysis was conducted to describe each infant’s demographic, maternal, and neonatal characteristics. A chi-squared test was also conducted, and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
The findings suggest that infants who receive an HHHFNC have a longer hospital stay than those who do not. Specifically, infants who did not receive a cannula spent 42.5 days on average in the hospital, compared with 99 days among those who received it, with a significant p-value (p=0.0001).
Conclusion
Infants receiving a cannula stay in hospital on average for twice as long as those who do not. However, to reduce the possibility of bias and produce more reliable results, we advise conducting clinical trials or prospective studies in future research.
