TY - JOUR T1 - Combined Noninvasive Respiratory Support Therapies to Treat COVID-19 JF - Respiratory Care SP - 1831 LP - 1839 DO - 10.4187/respcare.09162 VL - 66 IS - 12 AU - Nicolas Colaianni-Alfonso AU - Guillermo Montiel AU - Mauro Castro-Sayat AU - Catalina Siroti AU - Maria Laura Vega AU - Ada Toledo AU - Santiago Haedo AU - Ignacio Previgliano AU - Guido Mazzinari AU - José Miguel Alonso-Íñigo Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/66/12/1831.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND: The roles of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and CPAP in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are controversial. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of the application of a noninvasive respiratory support algorithm on clinical outcomes in subjects with COVID-19 and with acute respiratory failure.METHODS: We performed a single-center prospective observational study of subjects with respiratory failure from COVID-19 managed with HFNC and with CPAP plus HFNC (combined therapy). The main outcome was the intubation rate, which defined failure of therapy. We also analyzed the role of the ROX index ([ / ]/breathing frequency) to predict the need for intubation.RESULTS: From June to December 2020, 113 subjects with COVID-19 respiratory failure were admitted to our respiratory intermediate care unit. HFNC was applied in 65 subjects (57.52%) and combined therapy in 48 subjects (42.47%). A total of 83 subjects (73.45%) were successfully treated with noninvasive respiratory support. The intubation rate was 26.54%, and the overall mortality rate was 14.15%. The mortality rate in subjects who were intubated was 55.2%. An ROX index of 6.28 at 12 h predicted noninvasive respiratory support failure, with 97.6% sensitivity and 51.8% specificity.CONCLUSIONS: Data from our cohort managed in a respiratory intermediate care unit showed that combined noninvasive respiratory support was feasible, with favorable outcomes. Further prospective studies are required. ER -