High flow nasal oxygen versus conventional oxygen therapy in gastrointestinal endoscopy with conscious sedation: Systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis

Comparison of high-flow nasal cannula and conventional nasal cannula during sedation for endoscopic submucosal dissection: a retrospective study

Background

The high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a relatively recent method that provides high-flow, heated, humidified gas delivery.

Objectives

We compared HFNC (group HF) and conventional nasal cannula (NC) (group CO) during deep sedation with propofol and remifentanil for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).

Design

Single-center, retrospective observational cohort study.

Methods

In this study, a total of 159 cases were analyzed (group CO, 71 and group HF, 88). We collected the data from electronic medical records from September 2020 to June 2021. The lowest oxygen saturation (SpO2), incidence of hypoxia (SpO2 < 90%), rescue interventions, and adverse events between the two groups were investigated.

Results

There were significant differences between the two groups in lowest SpO2 and incidence of hypoxia [group CO versus group HF; 90.3 ± 9.7% versus 95.7 ± 9.0%, 25 (35.2%) versus 10 (11.4%); p < 0.001, p < 0.001; respectively]. Among the rescue interventions, the number of jaw thrust, patient stimulation, O2 flow increase, and nasal airway insertion were significantly higher in the CO group than in the HF group. However, postprocedural chest X-ray showed higher rates of abnormal findings (atelectasis, aspiration, and pneumoperitoneum) in group HF than in group CO [group CO: 8 (11.3%) versus group HF: 26 (29.5%), p = 0.005]. In multivariable analysis, besides group CO, difficult type of lesion was the risk factor for hypoxia.

Conclusions

Compared to the conventional NC, HFNC provided adequate oxygenation and a stable procedure without significant adverse events during sedation for ESD. However, caution is needed to avoid complications associated with deep sedation and difficult type of lesions.

Should We Use High-Flow Nasal Cannula in Patients Receiving Gastrointestinal Endoscopies? Critical Appraisals through Updated Meta-Analyses with Multiple Methodologies and Depiction of Certainty of Evidence

(1) Background: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy or conventional oxygen therapy (COT) are typically applied during gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic sedation. (2) Methods: We conducted a rigorous systematic review enrolling randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from five databases. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane’s RoB 2.0 tool; certainty of evidence (CoE) was assessed using GRADE framework. Meta-analysis was conducted using inverse-variance heterogeneity model and presented as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Trial sequential analysis was performed, and sensitivity analysis was conducted with Bayesian approach. (3) Results: Eight RCTs were included. Compared to COT, HFNC did not reduce the overall incidence of hypoxemia (RR 0.51; 95% CI 0.24–1.09; CoE: very low) but might reduce the incidence of hypoxemia in patients at moderate to high risk for hypoxemia (RR 0.54; 95% CI 0.31–0.96; and CoE: very low). HFNC might reduce the incidence of severe hypoxemia (RR 0.38; 95% CI 0.20–0.74; and CoE: low). HFNC might not affect the need of minor airway interventions (RR 0.31; 95% CI 0.08–1.22; and CoE: very low) and had no effect on procedure duration (CoE: very low); (4) Conclusions: During GI endoscopic sedation, HFNC might reduce the incidence of hypoxemia in patients at moderate to high risk for hypoxemia and prevent severe hypoxemia.

Endo-anesthesia: a primer

Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy has witnessed a Cambrian explosion of techniques, indications, and expanding target populations. GI endoscopy encompasses traditional domains that include preventive measures, palliation, as alternative therapies in patients with prohibitive risks of more invasive procedures, and indicated primary treatments. But, it has expanded to include therapeutic and diagnostic interventional endosonography, luminal endoscopic resection, third space endotherapy, endohepatology, and endobariatrics. The lines between surgery and endoscopy are blurred on many occasions within this paradigm. Moreover, patients with high degrees of co-morbidity and complex physiology require more nuanced peri-endoscopic management. The rising demand for endoscopy services has resulted in the development of endoscopy referral centers that offer these invasive procedures as directly booked referrals for regional and rural patients. This further necessitates specialized programs to ensure appropriate evaluation, risk stratification, and optimization for safe sedation and general anesthesia if needed. This landscape is conducive to the organic evolution of endo-anesthesia to meet the needs of these focused and evolving practices. In this primer, we delineate important aspects of endo-anesthesia care and provide relevant clinical and logistical considerations pertaining to the breadth of procedures.