Jean-Pierre Frat, Arnaud W Thille, Alain Mercat, Christophe Girault, Stéphanie Ragot, Sébastien Perbet, Gwénael Prat, Thierry Boulain, Elise Morawiec, Alice Cottereau, Jérôme Devaquet, Saad Nseir, Keyvan Razazi, Jean-Paul Mira, Laurent Argaud, Jean-Charles Chakarian, Jean-Damien Ricard, Xavier Wittebole, Stéphanie Chevalier, Alexandre Herbland, Muriel Fartoukh, Jean-Michel Constantin, Jean-Marie Tonnelier, Marc Pierrot, Armelle Mathonnet, Gaëtan Béduneau, Céline Delétage-Métreau, Jean-Christophe M Richard, Laurent Brochard, René Robert
BACKGROUND: Whether noninvasive ventilation should be administered in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is debated. Therapy with high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula may offer an alternative in patients with hypoxemia. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, open-label trial in which we randomly assigned patients without hypercapnia who had acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and a ratio of the partial pressure of arterial oxygen to the fraction of inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less to high-flow oxygen therapy, standard oxygen therapy delivered through a face mask, or noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation...
June 4, 2015: New England Journal of Medicine