부산대학교 도서관

Summary Oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilation are first-line treatments for hypoxaemic and hypercapnic acute respiratory failure (ARF), respectively. High-flow oxygen through nasal cannula (HFNC) may represent an alternative treatment. By providing humidified and heated air–oxygen admixture at high flow, HFNC ensures a pharyngeal dead space washout, decreases airway resistance, generates a positive end-expiratory pressure, and enhances the delivery of oxygen. The emerging evidence suggests that HFNC is effective in patients with hypoxaemic and hypoxaemic–hypercapnic ARF, after extubation during the weaning process, after surgery, and possibly immediately prior to intubation. In this chapter, we discuss the use of HFNC in these settings, following discussion of its potential advantageous mechanisms.