Treatment of Pediatric Patients With High-Flow Nasal Cannula and Considerations for Oral Feeding: A Review of the Literature.

Purpose: High-Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) has become an increasingly common means of noninvasive respiratory support in pediatrics and is being used in infants and children with respiratory distress both inside and outside of the intensive care units. Despite the widespread use of HFNC, there remains a paucity of data on optimal flow rates and its impact on morbidity, mortality, and desired outcomes. Given the scarcity of information in these critical areas, it is not surprising that guidelines for initiation of oral feeding do not exist. This review article will review HFNC mechanisms of action, its use in specific populations and settings, and finally what is known about initiation of feeding during this therapy.

Conclusions: The practice of withholding oral feeding solely, because of HFNC, is not supported in the literature at the time of this writing, but in the absence of safety data from clinical trials, clinicians should proceed with caution and consider patient-specific factors while making decisions about oral feeding. Well-controlled prospective clinical trials are needed for development of best practice clinical guidelines and attainment of optimal outcomes.