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Physiological Effects of High Flow in Adults

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High Flow Nasal Cannula

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Abstract

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) delivers heated and humidified mixture of air and oxygen up to 60 L/min through nasal prongs. The increasing interest in this noninvasive support is due to the several physiological benefits in supporting the respiratory system of spontaneously breathing patients. HFNC improves oxygenation through the generation of positive airway pressure and lung recruitment, decreases the work of breathing and the hypercapnic drive through CO2 washout from the upper airways, and reduces the respiratory effort lowering the risk of the patient’s self-induced lung injury. Moreover, HFNC, compared to other noninvasive supports and conventional oxygen therapy, reduces discomfort and improves the compliance to the therapy. Therefore, HFNC can be an effective therapy for patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, in patients with COPD, and in the post-extubation period after mechanical ventilation.

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Acknowledgements

Conflicts of Interest: TM reports personal fees from Fisher & Paykel, Drager, Mindray. The other authors do not have any conflict to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Francesca Dalla Corte, Irene Ottaviani & Giacomo Montanari

  2. Department of Critical Care Medicine, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Yu Mei Wang

  3. Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Tommaso Mauri

  4. Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Emergency, Foundation IRCCS Ca’ Granda Maggiore PoliclinicoHospital, Milan, Italy

    Tommaso Mauri

Authors
  1. Francesca Dalla Corte
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  2. Irene Ottaviani
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  3. Giacomo Montanari
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  4. Yu Mei Wang
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  5. Tommaso Mauri
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Correspondence to Tommaso Mauri .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Varese and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Institute, Maugeri, Pavia, Italy

    Annalisa Carlucci

  2. Clinical Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, SS. Annunziata Hospital, Chieti, Italy

    Salvatore M. Maggiore

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Dalla Corte, F., Ottaviani, I., Montanari, G., Wang, Y.M., Mauri, T. (2021). Physiological Effects of High Flow in Adults. In: Carlucci, A., Maggiore, S.M. (eds) High Flow Nasal Cannula. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42454-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42454-1_3

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-42454-1

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