High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy was effective for dysphagia associated with respiratory muscle paralysis due to cervical spinal cord injury: A case report

Methods of diagnosis and rehabilitation of dysphagia in patients with spinal cord injury: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Latest epidemiological metrics put a global prevalence of 20.6 million people suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI), leading to a burden of functional disability, deterioration in quality of life and reduced life expectancy. A thorough statement of diagnostic methods and treatment protocols for swallowing disorders after SCI stands as a major priority to streamline patient care and cost-sharing. Here we have provided a systematic overview of the evidence on diagnostic and rehabilitation protocols of dysphagia in the SCI population.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

The literature was searched in six electronic databases up to April 30th, 2024. Screening the 521 retrieved articles for inclusion criteria resulted in the selection of 43 studies that reported assessment tools and rehabilitation protocols for dysphagia in patients with SCI. Two researchers extracted the data in parallel, and inter-rater reliability (IRR) was used to estimate inter-coder agreement and then κ statistic to measure accuracy and precision. Based on PRISMA concepts and quality assessment steps, a k coefficient of at least 0.9 was obtained in all data extraction steps. All reports were assessed for risk of bias using the NIH Quality Assessment Toolkit. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023449137).

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

Dysphagia assessment methods were collected and grouped into four different macro categories (clinical assessment, rating scale, self-reported questionnaire, and instrumental assessment). It was found that the Bedside Swallow Evaluation (BSE) for the clinical assessment category (50%), the Bazaz score (32.5%) for the rating scale category, the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) (44.4%) for the self-reported questionnaire category, and the Videofluoroscopic Study of Swallowing (VFSS) (48.9%) for the instrumental assessment category were the most representative tools. The rehabilitation protocols described included either an early oral feeding exclusion or a consistency-modified oral intake, postural adaptations, oxygen therapy with a high-flow nasal cannula combined with indirect/direct therapy, specific exercises, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Methods of diagnosis and rehabilitation protocols for dysphagia in SCI patients appear inconsistent. Further rigorous studies are needed to achieve better clinical handling in SCI settings while lowering the load of patient morbidity and related healthcare costs.

Effects of Combined Respiratory Physiotherapy with High-Flow Nasal Cannula and Venturi Mask in Spinal Cord Injury: A Single-Subject Research Study and Literature Review

Background

The level of spinal cord injury affects the severity of respiratory impairment and the alteration of respiratory pattern and gas exchanges. Lesions at the C3-C5 level (phrenic nerve nucleus) cause disruption of descending input with paralysis of the main inspiratory muscle, often requiring tracheostomy and prolonged mechanical ventilation. Oxygen therapy is essential to switch from ventilatory support to removal of the endotracheal tube to correct residual difficulties in oxygenation management.

Case Presentation

A 58-year-old man had tracheostomy and tetraparesis as complication of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy treatment for a history of obstructive sleep apnea. A respiratory rehabilitation program with protocol of oxygen therapy with high flow cannula alternated with a low-flow system by Venturi mask during daytime hours only was started. The patient was constantly monitored with capillary partial oxygen saturation to obtain adequate oxygenation (≥ 94%) and registered every 15 minutes in the clinical chart. There was gradual improvement of respiratory function. Oxygen by Venturi mask was gradually reduced due to improvement of partial pressure oxygen values. Over the course of days, the optimal results of respiratory parameters led to a gradual weaning from the Venturi mask until the complete discontinuation of the low-flow system during daytime and decreased of the high-flow fraction of inspired oxygen to the maximal tolerated level during nighttime.

Conclusions

Implementing a combined protocol of nighttime oxygen with high flow cannula and daytime Venturi mask improves intensive motor training of patients by promoting the acquisition of ability to perform chair/bed transitions and to be able to achieve standing and begin gait training. More research is needed whether or noted to determine the role of this promising approach in patients with severe SCI and in other critically ill patients.

LEARNING POINTS

This is a presentation of a new respiratory training protocol of combined oxygen therapy by high flow cannula and Venturi mask in a patient with cervical spinal cord injury and respiratory failure.Due to this new respiratory training, from the weaning of ventilation devices the patient had greater independence and improved quality of life, with more intensive motor training in the gym, improvement of the motor program and the patient tolerance to training.Oxygen therapy with high flow cannula and Venturi mask could be valid and reliable combined respiratory training to improve the respiratory pattern in severely hypoxemic and hypercapnic patients, without adverse events.

A Survey of Feeding Practices During High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy

BACKGROUND

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy is used to deliver warm and humidified gases to patients in respiratory failure. A purported advantage of HFNC oxygen therapy is that it can allow for oral feeding while on the device, although few data support this practice. The purpose of this study was to identify practices and opinions with regard to feeding practices during HFNC oxygen therapy.

METHODS

A survey related to the practice and opinions of feeding practices during HFNC oxygen therapy was developed and sent to respiratory therapists, speech-language pathologists, physicians, advanced practice providers, and registered dietitians.

RESULTS

Respondents included 307 professionals from 14 different countries. Most respondents worked in an academic/teaching hospital (n = 174 [56.7%]) with patients ages ≥ 18 years (n = 282 [91.9%]). Most respondents stated that their institution did not have a specific feeding protocol for HFNC oxygen therapy (n = 246 [80.4%]) and felt that patients could have an oral diet during HFNC oxygen therapy if not in imminent danger of being intubated (n = 264 [86.3%]). Fewer than half of the respondents felt that patients should have a bedside/clinical swallow examination before eating and/or drinking during HFNC oxygen therapy (n = 143 [46.7%]). By profession, most physicians/advanced practice providers (n = 67 [59.3%]), respiratory therapists (n = 37 [62.7%]) and half of the registered dietitians (n = 16 [50%]) felt that bedside/clinical swallow examinations were unnecessary before eating and/or drinking with HFNC, but speech-language pathologists were in favor (n = 77 [75.5%]).

CONCLUSIONS

Most facilities did not have a protocol to guide feeding practices when HFNC oxygen therapy is used. Most clinicians felt that an oral diet is safe for stable patients not in danger of being intubated. In general, speech-language pathologists felt that patients on HFNC oxygen therapy should undergo a bedside/clinical swallow examination before eating and/or drinking.

Use of high-flow nasal oxygen in spontaneously breathing pediatric patients undergoing tubeless airway surgery: A prospective observational study

The use of high-flow nasal oxygen is gaining popularity in apneic and spontaneously breathing adult patients during anesthesia. This prospective observational study evaluated the effect of high-flow nasal oxygen in maintaining adequate oxygenation and ventilation in spontaneously breathing pediatric patients with dynamic airway obstruction, undergoing tubeless airway surgery. Oxygenation was provided via an age-appropriate, high-flow nasal cannula at a flow rate of 2 L kg-1 min-1. Propofol and remifentanil were used to maintain anesthesia while preserving spontaneous respiration. We sought to determine the incidence and risk factors of rescue ventilation. Rescue ventilation with a face mask was performed when the pulse oximetry oxygen saturation was <90% or transcutaneous carbon dioxide was >80 mm Hg. In total, 27 patients were included in the final analysis. Median (interquartile range) of pulse oximetry and transcutaneous carbon dioxide were 100% (99%-100%) and 58.4 mm Hg (51.4-70.3 mm Hg), respectively. Altogether, 9 (33.3%) patients needed rescue ventilation during anesthesia. Of these, 7 patients (25.9%) developed oxygen desaturation (<90%) and 2 patients (7.4%) developed hypercarbia. Patients who required rescue ventilation were significantly younger (8.2 vs 28.8 months, P = .02) and required a longer anesthesia time (55.7 vs 41.0 minutes, P = .04) than those who did not. In conclusion, High-flow nasal oxygen is an alternative technique to maintain oxygenation in children undergoing airway surgeries. However, younger age and longer anesthesia time are significant risk factors leading to the requirement of rescue ventilation in these patients. Further studies with large sample size are required for clinical application of these techniques.

High Flow Nasal Cannula Decreased Pulmonary Complications in Neurologically Critically Ill Patients

Objective: Pulmonary complications could badly affect the recovery of neurological function and neurological prognosis of neurological critically ill patients. This study evaluated the effect of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy on decreasing pulmonary complications in neurologically critically ill patients.

Patients and Methods: The patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with serious neurological disease and receiving oxygen therapy were retrospectively reviewed (Ethical No. IRB2021-YX-001). Patients were divided into the HFNC group and the conventional oxygen therapy (COT) group. We analyzed the data within these two groups, including patients’ baseline data, short-term outcomes of respiratory complications, general outcomes including hospital stay, ICU stay and mortality, and neurological functions. To analyze the relevant factors, we performed multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Results: A total of 283 patients met the criteria, including 164 cases in the HFNC group and 119 cases in the COT group. The HFNC group had remarkably less mechanical ventilation requirement with lower phlegm viscosity. Even more, ICU stay and total hospital stay were significantly shortened in the HNFC group.

Conclusion: HFNC decreased pulmonary complications in neurologically critically ill patients and improved recovery of neurological function and neurological prognosis.