The efficacy of high flow nasal oxygenation for maintaining maternal oxygenation during rapid sequence induction in pregnancy

BACKGROUND High-flow nasal oxygenation (HFNO) for pre-oxygenation in rapid sequence induction (RSI) has only been assessed in volunteer parturients without intubation. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of HFNO in comparison with the conventional facemask for oxygenation during RSI for caesarean section under general anaesthesia. SETTING Operating room in a tertiary hospital. DESIGN Prospective randomised, controlled study. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-four healthy parturients undergoing general anaesthesia for caesarean section. INTERVENTIONS Parturients were randomly assigned to HFNO or standard facemask (SFM) group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measure was the PaO 2 immediately after intubation. Secondary outcomes included lowest saturation throughout the intubation procedure, end-tidal oxygen concentration (EtO 2 ) on commencing ventilation, blood gas analysis (pH, PaCO 2 ), fetal outcomes and intubation-related adverse events. RESULTS PaO 2 in the HFNO group was significantly higher than that in SFM group (441.41 ± 46.73 mmHg versus 328.71 ± 72.80 mmHg, P < 0.0001). The EtO 2 concentration in the HFNO group was higher than that in the SFM group (86.71 ± 4.12% versus 76.94 ± 7.74%, P < 0.0001). Compared to baseline, PaCO 2 immediately after intubation also increased significantly in both groups (HFNO group: 30.87 ± 2.50 mmHg versus 38.28 ± 3.18 mmHg; SFM group: 29.82 ± 2.57 mmHg versus 38.05 ± 5.76 mmHg, P < 0.0001), but there was no difference in PaCO 2 between the two groups. There was no difference in lowest saturation, intubation times, duration of apnoea, pH value or fetal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Compared with SFM, HFNO provided a higher PaO 2 and EtO 2 immediately after intubation in parturients. HFNO is safe as a method of oxygenation during RSI in parturients undergoing general anaesthesia for caesarean section. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical trial ChiCTR1900023121.