Is nasal high flow recommended for the treatment of COVID-19?

This FAQ is taken from Flow matters COVID-19 edition, updated Feb 2022. Read the complete edition here. 

Yes.

Nasal high flow use on COVID-19 patients has been observed to:

• Keep patients off mechanical ventilation and help them stay off.
• Lower the rate of mortality.
• Be successfully used outside of ICU settings
• Reduce the length of stay.

“[NHF] use is associated with a reduction in the rate of invasive mechanical ventilation and overall mortality in patients with COVID-19 infection.” - Patel et al. 2020.


The number of organizations that have published evidence-based guidelines recommending the use of NHF for COVID-19 patients continues to grow:

• World Health Organisation
• National Institutes of Health
• National Health Commission of the Peoples Republic of China
• Surviving Sepsis Campaign
• Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society
• European Respiratory Society
• International expert consensus statement
• Expert recommendations from a French panel consisting of members from various intensive care societies

Read more here. (includes all references) 
 

You might also be interested in:

• Does the use of nasal high flow increase the risk of healthcare worker (HCW) infections?

 

 

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