Development in PaCO₂ over 12 months in patients with COPD with persistent hypercapnic respiratory failure treated with high-flow nasal cannula—post-hoc analysis from a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

This post-hoc analysis indicates that HFNC stabilises patients with COPD with persistent hypoxic and hypercapnic failures, in terms of PaCO₂, exacerbations and number of hospitalisations, whereas those not receiving HFNC worsened. This suggests that HFNC is a possible treatment for patients with persistent hypercapnic COPD.