Table 1.
Patients’ characteristics in the high flow nasal therapy (HFNT) and noninvasive ventilation (NIV) groups at baseline
| HFNT group | NIV group | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 40 | 39 | |
| Females, n (%) | 19 (47.5) | 20 (51.3) | 0.7368 |
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 74 ± 13 | 77. ± 12 | 0.2273 |
| Weight (kg)a, mean ± SD | 85 ± 23 | 76 ± 13 | 0.0964 |
| Height (m)a, mean ± SD | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 1.7 ± 0.1 | 0.5494 |
| BMI (kg/m2)a, mean ± SD | 30.5 ± 8.7 | 26.7 ± 5.5 | 0.0622 |
| Ward of admission, n (%) | 0.5807 | ||
| Emergency room | 24 (60) | 21 (53.8) | |
| ICU or respiratory unit | 16 (40) | 18 (46.1) | |
| SAPS II, mean ± SD | 30 ± 9 | 33 ± 10 | 0.1497 |
| Charlson index, mean ± SD | 4 ± 2 | 5 ± 3 | 0.4709 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg), mean ± SD | 131 ± 27 | 137 ± 24 | 0.3629 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg), mean ± SD | 71 ± 17 | 70 ± 13 | 0.7089 |
| Heart rate (per min), mean ± SD | 91 ± 20 | 92 ± 19 | 0.9609 |
| Respiratory rate (per min), mean ± SD | 27 ± 7 | 28 ± 7 | 0.5544 |
| Body temperatureb (C°), mean ± SD | 36.6 ± 0.7 | 36.8 ± 0.5 | 0.0489 |
| Kelly Matthay score, n (%) | 0.0694 | ||
| Alert, follows complex command (1) | 19 (47.5) | 25 (64.1) | |
| Alert, follows simple commands (2) | 9 (22.5) | 8 (20.5) | |
| Lethargie (3) | 12 (30) | 4 (10.3) | |
| Stuporous (4) | 0 (0) | 2 (5.1) | |
| Borg dyspnea scoreb, mean ± SD | 5 ± 2 | 5 ± 2 | 0.4463 |
| RASS, n (%) | 0.4813 | ||
| Light sedation (− 2) | 2 (5) | 2 (5.1) | |
| Drowsy (− 1) | 13 (32.5) | 7 (17.9) | |
| Alert and calm (0) | 21 (52.5) | 26 (66.7) | |
| Restless (+ 1) | 4 (10) | 4 (10.3) | |
| Secretion, n (%) | 0.2163 | ||
| Normal | 23 (57.5) | 17 (43.6) | |
| Abundant | 17 (42.5) | 22 (56.4) | |
| PaCO2 (mmHg), mean ± SD | 73.7 ± 12.8 | 72.0 ± 13.0 | 0.5270 |
| Arterial pH, mean ± SD | 7.30 ± 0.03 | 7.29 ± 0.03 | 0.7450 |
| PaO2 (mmHg), mean ± SD | 64.3 ± 17.6 | 73.3 ± 27.9 | 0.1480 |
| SpO2 (%), median [IQR] | 90.1 [87.0–94.1] | 92.0 [88.0–96.0] | 0.1835 |
| HCO3− (mmol L−1), mean ± SD | 34.3 ± 5.9 | 33.1 ± 6.30 | 0.3680 |
| PaO2/FiO2, mean ± SD | 203.2 ± 45.5 | 222.4 ± 71.0 | 0.4801 |
| Lactatec (mmol L−1), median [IQR] | 1.1 [0.7–1.6] | 1.1 [0.9–1.5] | 0.7376 |
BMI body mass index, FiO2 fraction of inspired oxygen, HCO3− bicarbonate, HFNT high-flow nasal therapy, ICU intensive care unit, IQR interquartile range (first and third quartile), NIV noninvasive ventilation, PaO2arterial partial pressure, PaCO2 partial pressure of carbon dioxide, RASS Richmond agitation-sedation scale, SAPS simplified acute physiology score, SD standard deviation
aData was not available for five patients (three in HFNT and two NIV group)
bData was not available for one patient in NIV group
cData was not available for one patient in HFNT group