Journal of Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

All submissions of the EM system will be redirected to Online Manuscript Submission System. Authors are requested to submit articles directly to Online Manuscript Submission System of respective journal.
Reach Us +1 (629)348-3199

Case Report - Journal of Intensive and Critical Care Nursing (2021) Volume 4, Issue 7

Efficacy, safety and tolerability of early prone positioning in COVID-19 patients requiring high-flow nasal cannula: a case report.

A recent study shows the efficacy of early prone positioning (PP) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) or non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The effects of PP in Covid-19 patients on HFNC have not been reported. Case Report: A 54-year-old man was admitted to our University Hospital with fever (39ºC) for eight days and progressive shortness of breath within the last 24h. A chest X-ray revealed bilateral infiltrates. Nasopharyngeal smear PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was positive. The patient was admitted to the ICU due to the progressive hypoxemia that required HFNC (FiO2 80%; 60 liters per minute). The patient rotated into lateral and PP for 4 hours each day for 4 days. Rotations to lateral and PP were well tolerated and improved markedly the PaO2/FiO2 ratio. Five days after ICU admission HFNC was changed by a venturi mask (FiO2 40%). Conclusion: Awake prone and lateral positioning is well tolerated in COVID-19 patients requiring HFNC and could prevent invasive mechanical ventilation. This technique is simple and requires a very short learning curve, feature that represents a major advantage in a pandemic scenario, in which inexperienced healthcare professionals are treating an increasing number of severely ill patients.

Author(s): Miquel Sanz-Moncusi, Rosselló-Sancho J, Garcia-Alamino JM

Abstract PDF

Get the App