Key clinical point: In patients receiving high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure associated with COVID-19, initiating awake prone positioning (proning) soon after HFNC may improve survival.
Major finding: Initiating awake proning within 24 hours of HFNC was associated with lower mortality rates than late proning (26% vs 45%; P = .039).
Study details: The data come from a post hoc analysis of a trial evaluating awake proning in HFNC-treated patients with COVID-19 with respiratory failure (n=125).
Disclosures: The study was supported by the Rice Foundation. R Kaur, DL Vines, JD Scott, MW Trump, and J Li reported relationships with pharmaceutical/medical device companies and/or research organizations. The remaining authors declared no conflict of interests.
Source: Kaur R et al. Crit Care. 2021 Sep 17. doi: 10.1186/s13054-021-03761-9 .