High Flow Nasal Oxygen Therapy Usage in the Adult Intensive Care Units in Turkey: Multi-center, Prospective Study

Aim: High flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) is widely used all over the world as oxygen support therapy. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of the patients treated with HFNO therapy, indications and results of HFNO therapy in adult ICUs of Turkey. Method: This multicenter, prospective, observational was conducted between 15 January 2018 and 15 January 2019 and included 14 centers. Results: The study included 298 patients with a mean age of 65.8±17.1 years, 172 (57.7%) of the patients were male. APACHE II and SOFA scores were 22.5±7.8 and 5.8±3.4 respectively. The mean respiratory rate of the patients at the onset of HFNO was 26.2±7.6 breaths/min, SpO2 89.3±8.2% and median Dyspnea score was 7. Most common indication for the use of HFNO was respiratory failure in 220 (73.8%) patients. Other indications were the risk of post-operative respiratory failure in 57 (29.8%) patients, palliative purposes in 17 (5.7%) patients. Type 1 hypoxemic respiratory failure was most common reason for respiratory failure (70.8%). Median HFNO administration time 4 [1-21] days, median initial flow rate was 54 L/min, and median initiation FiO2 was 60%. Initial respiratory rate (p