High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Therapy

This is a single-center, ambispective observational cohort study of adults with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) receiving high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) as initial respiratory support. The study includes three stages. Stage 1 (retrospective derivation): the first 57 consecutive patients (May-September 2025) were retrospectively included to develop and lock a dual-domain logistic model using baseline EFI, baseline PaCO2, and 0-30 minute changes in respiratory rate (ΔRR) and SpO2 (ΔSpO2). Stage 2 (retrospective temporal validation): the later 58 patients (October 2025-March 2026) were retrospectively included, and the frozen model was directly applied without refitting; results of Stages 1 and 2 have been reported. Stage 3 (prospective validation): an independent prospective validation cohort is currently being enrolled, and the frozen model will be applied without refitting. The primary outcome is endotracheal intubation within 72 hours after HFNO initiation. This registration covers the complete study; the retrospective stages have been reported, and the prospective stage is ongoing.

The HERMES Phase III study is an international, multicenter, prospective observational investigation designed to characterize the quality and safety of patient transport during advanced respiratory support. The study will enroll patients undergoing prehospital, interhospital, or intrahospital transport while receiving advanced respiratory support, including high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO), noninvasive ventilation (NIV), or invasive mechanical ventilation, as determined by routine clinical practice. The study protocol will not assign respiratory-support modalities, transport strategies, or therapeutic interventions. The primary objective is to prospectively evaluate clinical, technical, organizational, and transport-related factors associated with the safe continuation of respiratory support throughout patient transport. Data collection will include patient characteristics, respiratory-support modality and settings, transport characteristics, physiologic monitoring, transport-team composition, oxygen and electrical power resources, equipment-related events, interruptions or modifications of respiratory support, clinical deterioration, rescue interventions, escalation of respiratory support, and other transport-associated adverse events. HERMES Phase III constitutes the prospective multicenter component of a broader research program that previously included an international survey of respiratory-support transport practices and an exploratory prospective feasibility evaluation of portable external power during ambulance transport.

High-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO) is an oxygenation technique frequently used in intensive care. The main objective of our study is to show that the use of a protocol for weaning patients off high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO) in the intensive care unit increases the probability that patients will be weaned from HFNO at Day 7 post-randomisation. This is a open-label multicentre randomised controlled trial conducted in two parallel groups. The primary endpoint is the success rate at Day 7, with success defined as "definitive" weaning from HFNO, i.e. patients weaned from HFNO for more than 48 hours without recourse to non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or intubation and still alive at Day 7. The weaning protocol will be started as soon as the patient meets all the inclusion criteria, considered to be the prerequisites for initiating weaning from HFNO. Patients will be monitored until Day 28 maximum.

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) is a common indication for admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), with mortality exceeding 50% in cases where invasive mechanical ventilation is needed. Therefore, assessment of the most adequate oxygen strategy to avoid intubation in patients with AHRF deserves consideration.Previous studies have indicated that non-invasive oxygenation strategies, including high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO), helmet or face mask noninvasive ventilation (NIV), and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), are effective in preventing endotracheal intubation in adult patients with AHRF when compared to the standard oxygen therapy. However, the optimal non-invasive oxygenation strategies remain uncertain. This study aim to determine whether CPAP, compared with HFNC or NIV, increase the intubation-free survival during study period in patients with AHRF.