CPAP significantly reduces tracheal intubation risk in COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure: NEJM

In a new study it was found that an initial strategy of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) significantly reduced the risk of tracheal intubation or mortality compared to conventional oxygen therapy in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure caused by COVID-19, but there was no significant difference between an initial strategy of high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and conventional oxygen therapy.

This study was conducted by Gavin D. Perkins and team with the objective to see if CPAP or HFNO improves clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19-related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure as compared to standard oxygen treatment. The findings of this study were published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

This study was a parallel group, adaptive, randomized clinical trial of 1273 hospitalized patients with COVID-19–related acute hypoxemic respiratory failure was conducted in this investigation. The experiment took place between April 6, 2020, and May 3, 2021, at 48 acute care hospitals in the United Kingdom and Jersey. The last follow-up was place on June 20, 2021. Adult patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: CPAP (n = 380), HFNO (n = 418), or standard oxygen treatment (n = 475). The primary outcome was either tracheal intubation or death within 30 days.