Positive role of continuous positive airway pressure for intensive care unit patients with severe hypoxaemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19 pneumonia: A single centre experience

Objectives: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may be a useful treatment strategy for patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia but its effectiveness in preventing mechanical ventilation is unknown. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of COVID-19 patients treated with CPAP and determine predictors of CPAP response. Design: This was a retrospective observational cohort study. Setting: The study took place in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Royal Papworth Hospital (RPH) in Cambridge, UK. Patients: We included all consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia who were transferred from neighbouring hospitals between 14th March and 6th May, 2020 for consideration of ventilatory support. Intervention: We instituted the use of CPAP for all patients who arrived in RPH not intubated and were not making satisfactory progress on supplemental oxygen alone. Measurements and main results: Of 33 self-ventilating patients included in this study, 22 (66.7%) were male and the mean age was 54 +/- 13.23 patients received CPAP. They were more hypoxaemic than those treated with oxygen alone (PaO2/FiO(2) ratio; 84.3 +/- 19.0 vs 170.0 +/- 46.0 mmHg, p = 0.001). There was a significant improvement in PaO2/FiO(2) ratio 1-2 hours after CPAP initiation (167.4 +/- 49.0 from 84.3 +/- 19.0mmHg, p = 0.001). 14 (61%) patients responded to CPAP and 9 required intubation. There was no difference between these two groups in terms of the severity of baseline hypoxaemia (PaO2/FiO(2) ratio; 84.5 +/- 16.0 vs 83.9 +/- 23.0 mmHg, p = 0.94) but CPAP responders had significantly lower C-reactive protein (CRP) (176 +/- 83 vs 274 +/- 63 mg/L, p = 0.007), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (30 +/- 47 vs 139 +/- 148 pg/mL, p = 0.037), and D-dimer (321 +/- 267 vs 941+1990 ng/mL, p = 0.003). CT pulmonary angiogram was performed in 6 out of 9 intubated patients and demonstrated pulmonary emboli in 5 of them. All patients were discharged from ICU and there were no fatalities. Conclusions: In this cohort, CPAP was an effective treatment modality to improve hypoxaemia and prevent invasive ventilation in a substantial proportion of patients with severe respiratory failure. Accepting the small sample size, we also found raised biomarkers of inflammation (CRP and IL-6) and coagulopathy (D-Dimer) to be more useful predictors of CPAP responsiveness than the severity of hypoxaemia, and could help to guide intubation decisions in this clinical setting.