PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Thind, Guramrinder Singh
AU  - Hatipoğlu, Umur
AU  - Chatburn, Robert L
AU  - Krishnan, Sudhir
AU  - Duggal, Abhijit
AU  - Mireles-Cabodevila, Eduardo
TI  - Evaluation of High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation as a Rescue Strategy in Respiratory Failure
AID  - 10.4187/respcare.08936
DP  - 2021 Nov 01
TA  - Respiratory Care
PG  - 1746--1751
VI  - 66
IP  - 11
4099  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/66/11/1746.short
4100  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/66/11/1746.full
AB  - BACKGROUND: The use of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is backed by sound physiologic rationale, but clinical data on the elective use of HFOV have been largely disappointing. Nonetheless, HFOV is still occasionally used as a rescue mode in patients with severe hypoxemia. The evidence that supports this practice is sparse.METHODS: This was a retrospective single-center analysis that involved subjects admitted to the medical ICU at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. We included all adult patients (ages > 18 y) who received rescue HFOV between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2018, and analyzed their clinical outcomes.RESULTS: A total of 48 subjects were included in the analysis. The most common primary diagnosis was pneumonia (n = 33 [68.8%]), followed by aspiration (n = 6 [12.5%]) and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (n = 2 [4.2%]). Switching to HFOV improved oxygenation but also increased vasopressor requirements at 3 h. The mortality rate of the study population was 92% (44/48).CONCLUSIONS: Our study did not support utilization of HFOV as a “last-ditch” rescue measure in subjects with respiratory failure. The delayed timing of HFOV initiation and its detrimental hemodynamic effects are among the potential reasons for the high mortality rate.