Characteristics of Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia Treated with High-flow Oxygen and Non-invasive Ventilation Outside the Intensive Care Unit

Objective: Comparing high-flow oxygen (HFO) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) treatment methods applied to patients hospitalized in the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) service outside the intensive care unit. Materials and Methods: Demographic characteristics, duration of hospitalization and application times, acute phase reactants, ROX index, comorbid conditions, radiological scores and results were evaluated retrospectively in patients treated with HFO (n=26) and NIV (n=23) who were hospitalized in the COVID service outside the intensive care unit of the state hospital between November 2020 and June 2021. Results: A total of 49 patients, 27 males and 22 females, were included in the study. The mean age was 55.6 +/- 14.6 years. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (n=27), diabetes (n=15). Patients in the HFO group were hospitalized for 16.6 +/- 9.4 days, HFO was applied for 6 +/- 4.6 days. Patients in the NIV group were hospitalized for 9.4 +/- 6.4 days, NIV was applied for 5.8 +/- 4.2 days. The saturation of the patients who were administered HFO (84.1 +/- 4.6) were found to be lower than those who received NIV (88.7 +/- 2). It was determined that 18.37% of 49 patients e.g. 5 of whom were treated with HFO and 4 of them were those who received NIV treatment. The ROX index was found to be significantly lower in the death group (n=9) compared to the survivors (n=40). In radiological imaging, there was no significant difference in the severity of pneumonia in patients treated with HFO and NIV. Lactate dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein from acute phase reactants at the time of hospitalization were significantly higher in the group who ex. Conclusion: It was determined that HFO or NIV was not different in terms of mortality in thr non-intensive care COVID service.