Studies have shown that high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy can improve oxygenation post extubation, lung volumes, and patient comfort and tolerance compared with conventional aerosol oxygen mask therapy. Research findings include:

• Fewer complication and shorter length of stay: One study showed high-flow nasal oxygen therapy reduced the need for non-invasive ventilation by 80 percent, reduced episodes of oxygen desaturation by 66 percent, reduced the need for reintubation by 80 percent and reduced length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) by an average of 1.3 days.
• Lower reintubation rates: A randomized clinical trial comparing post-extubation high-flow nasal cannula versus conventional oxygen therapy showed reintubation rates were lower in the high-flow group (5%) versus the conventional oxygen therapy group (12%).
• Impact on cardiac patients: In post-cardiac surgical patients, where alveolar collapse and post-op atelectasis are common complications, use of high-flow oxygen therapy has demonstrated significant improvements in end-expiratory lung volumes.

High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy provides a cost effective alternative to conventional oxygen therapy in terms of equipment costs and workflow efficiency. Below are some specific examples.

• Consumable cost savings: While local expenses vary by contract or purchasing agreement, a hospital can potentially save $9,360 annually by extubating a patient to a high-flow nasal cannula system compared with a $624 annual savings from extubating to an aerosol oxygen mask. This theoretical cost savings, contained within the white paper: Integrated O2 Therapy Option for Respiratory Care Patient Outcomes, is based on three patients per week at 52 weeks/annually.
• Workflow improvement: With a high-flow nasal cannula system, there is a single device at the bedside to support all patient oxygenation and ventilation requirements. The caregiver can switch the therapy mode simply by changing the patient-circuit interface, which can streamline clinical workflows.
• Lower equipment costs: The use of a single system for oxygenation and ventilation therapy reduces biomedical requirements and the expense of maintaining different devices with respect to spare parts, preventative maintenance and asset tracking.

In today’s digital healthcare environment, clinicians require quick and easy access to accurate and timely data on which to make care decisions, and the ability to transmit this data to the electronic medical record (EMR) system for clinical documentation. When evaluating high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy technology, keep these considerations in mind:

• Data trending and reporting: The system should generate data points that can be trended over time so that clinicians can analyze the patient’s changing status over a few hours to several days.
• EMR documentation: In order to support clinical documentation, as well as operational and financial processes (e.g. patient billing, reimbursement), the system should be capable of transmitting data, including Fi02 concentration and flow rate values via the appropriate communication protocol to the EMR system. 

For more information on how integrated oxygen therapy for respiratory care can improve patient outcomes, lower costs and improve workflow, read this white paper.