Effect of high-flow nasal cannula on patients' recovery after inhalation general anesthesia

To investigate the effect of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and Oxygen Nebuliser mask (ONM) on patients recovering from inhalation anesthesia.

A retrospective analysis was performed on 128 patients after inhalation of general anesthesia in the recovery room of the Anesthesiology Department of The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from September 2019 to September 2021. All patients received the same anesthesia induction and analgesia methods, inhalation anesthesia or intravenous-inhalation anesthesia maintenance, recovered spontaneous breathing and removed endotracheal intubation after surgery, then were divided into HFNC group and ONM group for oxygen therapy. HFNC setting mode: flow rate: 20-60 L/minutes, humidification temperature: 37°C, the oxygen concentration was adjusted to maintain finger pulse oxygen saturation SPO₂>90%; ONM group, the oxygen flow rate was adjusted to maintain finger pulse oxygen saturation SPO₂>90%. All patients in the two groups were compared immediately after they entered the recovery room for 0 minutes,, 10 minutes, and 20 minutes,, including tidal volume, blood gas, Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) score and time from sedation to awakening.

The changes in tidal volume, oxygenation index and RASS score over time in the HFNC group were higher than those in the ONM group (p<0.05), and the awakening time in the HFNC group was faster than that in the ONM group (p<0.01), with significant statistical differences.

Compared with ONM, HFNC can shorten postoperative recovery time, reduce the incidence of agitation and improve lung function and oxygenation state during recovery from anesthesia.