@article {Mengarespcare.08622, author = {Luca Salvatore Menga and Luca Delle Cese and Filippo Bongiovanni and Gianmarco Lombardi and Teresa Michi and Filippo Luciani and Marta Cicetti and Jacopo Timpano and Maria Cristina Ferrante and Melania Cesarano and Gian Marco Anzellotti and Tommaso Ros{\`a} and Daniele Natalini and Eloisa S Tanzarella and Salvatore Lucio Cutuli and Gabriele Pintaudi and Gennaro de Pascale and Antonio M Dell{\textquoteright}Anna and Giuseppe Bello and Mariano Alberto Pennisi and Salvatore Maurizio Maggiore and Riccardo Maviglia and Domenico Luca Grieco and Massimo Antonelli}, title = {High Failure Rate of Noninvasive Oxygenation Strategies in Critically Ill Subjects With Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure Due to COVID-19}, elocation-id = {respcare.08622}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.4187/respcare.08622}, publisher = {Respiratory Care}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The efficacy of noninvasive oxygenation strategies (NIOS) in treating COVID-19 disease is unknown. We conducted a prospective observational study to assess the rate of NIOS failure in subjects treated in the ICU for hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19.METHODS: Patients receiving first-line treatment NIOS for hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19 in the ICU of a university hospital were included in this study; laboratory data were collected upon arrival, and 28-d outcome was recorded. After propensity score matching based on Simplified Acute Physiology (SAPS) II score, age, PaO2/FIO2 and PaCO2 at arrival, the NIOS failure rate in subjects with COVID-19 was compared to a previously published cohort who received NIOS during hypoxemic respiratory failure due to other causes.RESULTS: A total of 85 subjects received first-line treatment with NIOS. The most frequently used methods were helmet noninvasive ventilation and high-flow nasal cannula; of these, 52 subjects (61\%) required endotracheal intubation. Independent factors associated with NIOS failure were SAPS II score (P = .009) and serum lactate dehydrogenase at enrollment (P = .02); the combination of SAPS II score >= 33 with serum lactate dehydrogenase >= 405 units/L at ICU admission had 91\% specificity in predicting the need for endotracheal intubation. In the propensity-matched cohorts (54 pairs), subjects with COVID-19 showed higher risk of NIOS failure than those with other causes of hypoxemic respiratory failure (59\% vs 35\%, P = .02), with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2 (95\% CI 1.1{\textendash}3.6, P = .01).CONCLUSIONS: As compared to hypoxemic respiratory failure due to other etiologies, subjects with COVID-19 who were treated with NIOS in the ICU were burdened by a 2-fold higher risk of failure. Subjects with a SAPS II score >= 33 and serum lactate dehydrogenase >= 405 units/L represent the population with the greatest risk.}, issn = {0020-1324}, URL = {https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2021/03/02/respcare.08622}, eprint = {https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2021/03/02/respcare.08622.full.pdf}, journal = {Respiratory Care} }