Table 1.
Characteristics at intensive care unit admission of all patients receiving high-flow nasal cannula therapy and those with and without epistaxis
| Variable | Total n = 70 | Epistaxis n = 7 | No epistaxis n = 63 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 67 [58.2 - 80] | 80 [58 - 84] | 66 [58.5 - 78] | 0.445 |
| Female | 28 (40) | 4 (57.1) | 24 (38.1) | 0.426 |
| Indication for HFNC | 0.587 | |||
| Acute respiratory failure | 59 (84.3) | 7 (100) | 52 (82.5) | |
| Prevention of postextubation failure | 11 (15.7) | 0 (0) | 11 (17.5) | |
| Diagnosis | 0.02 | |||
| Pneumonia | 32 (45.7) | 0 (0) | 32 (50.8) | |
| Nonpulmonary sepsis | 11 (15.7) | 3 (42.9) | 8 (12.7) | |
| Exacerbated COPD | 3 (4.3) | 1 (14.3) | 2 (3.2) | |
| Cardiogenic pulmonary edema | 7 (10) | 1 (14.3) | 6 (9.5) | |
| Pulmonary embolism | 4 (5.7) | 1 (14.3) | 3 (4.8) | |
| Abdominal postoperative | 3 (4.3) | 0 (0) | 3 (4.8) | |
| Cardiovascular postoperative | 10 (14.3) | 1 (14.3) | 9 (14.3) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||
| COPD | 7 (10) | 0 (0) | 7 (11.1) | 1 |
| Stroke | 10 (14.3) | 1 (14.3) | 9 (14.3) | 1 |
| Chronic renal failure | 14 (20) | 5 (71.4) | 9 (14.3) | 0.003 |
| Hepatic disease | 4 (5.7) | 1 (14.3) | 3 (4.8) | 0.35 |
| Heart failure | 7 (10) | 2 (28.6) | 5 (7.9) | 0.142 |
| Hematological malignancies | 9 (12.9) | 0 (0) | 9 (14.3) | 0.583 |
| Solid tumor | 23 (32.9) | 3 (42.9) | 20 (31.7) | 0.676 |
| Use of vasopressors | 14 (20) | 3 (42.9) | 11 (17.5) | 0.137 |
| SAPS3* | 53.9 ± 16.8 | 61 ± 17 | 53.2 ± 16.7 | 0.244 |
| SOFA† | 9.2 ± 1.7 | 9.1 ± 1.1 | 9.2 ± 1.8 | 0.945 |
| Platelets | 142 [81.8 - 222.5] | 133 [47 - 143.5] | 148 [84.5 - 226] | 0.313 |
| INR | 1.3 [1.2 - 1.4] | 1.2 [1.1 - 1.2] | 1.3 [1.2 - 1.4] | 0.026 |
| aPTT | 32 [28.5 - 38.5] | 34 [30.9 - 40] | 31.8 [28.4 - 38] | 0.776 |
HFNC - high-flow nasal cannula; COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SAPS - Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SOFA - Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; INR - International Normalized Ratio; aPTT - activated prothrombin time.
Range, 0 to 217; higher scores indicate higher severity of illness and risk of in-hospital death. † Range, 0 to 24; higher scores indicate a greater severity of organ dysfunction in critically ill patients and risk of in-hospital death (e.g., a score of 10 predicts an in-hospital mortality of 50%). Results expressed as median [interquartile range], n (%), or mean ± standard deviation.