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Effect of high-frequency oscillation on pressure delivered by high flow nasal cannula in a premature infant lung
David M Rub1,2, Emidio M Sivieri2,3, Soraya Abbasi1,2,3
1Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Objective:
This study describes the effect of high-frequency oscillation on airway pressure generated by high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in a premature infant lung model.
Design/Methods:
A premature in 0.5 or 1.0 mL/cmH 2 O, respiratory rate (RR) of 40 or 60 breaths per min, and tidal volume of 6 mL. Oscillation was achieved by passing the HFNC supply flow through a 3-way solenoid valve operating at 4, 6, 8, or 10 Hz. Airway pressure at the simulated trachea was recorded following equilibration of end-tidal CO 2 both with and without oscillation.
Results:
Superimposing high-frequency oscillations onto HFNC resulted in an average decrease in mean airway pressure of 17.9% (P = .011). The difference between the maximum and minimum airway pressures, ∆ P min-max, significantly increased as oscillation frequency decreased ( P < .001). Airway pressure during oscillation was 12.8% greater with the 1.0 vs the 0.5 mL/cmH 2 O compliance at flows > 4 L/min ( P = .031). CO 2 clearance was 13.1% greater with the 1.0 vs 0.5 mL/cmH 2 O compliance at oscillation frequencies less than 8 Hz ( P = .015).
Conclusion:
In this in-vitro study we demonstrate that delivered mean airway pressure decreases when applying high-frequency oscillation to HFNC, while still improving CO2 clearance. The combination of improved CO 2 clearance and reduced pressure delivery of this novel noninvasive modality may prove to be a useful improvement in the respiratory care of infants in respiratory distress.
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