• Juan Valencia-Ramos, Alicia Mirás, Amacia Cilla, Carlos Ochoa, and Juan Arnaez.
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Centro Hospitalario Burgo, Burgos, Spain. jvalenra@gmail.com.
• Respir Care. 2018 Jul 1; 63 (7): 886-893.

BackgroundHigh-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is increasingly used to provide respiratory support in infants with bronchiolitis. The delivery of aerosol therapy through a jet nebulizer is widely indicated despite its controversial efficacy and poor tolerability.MethodsThis randomized cross-over study aimed to evaluate the comfort and satisfaction of the delivery of aerosol therapy using a nebulization system integrated into HFNC compared with the standard practice of using a jet nebulizer with a face mask. The COMFORT-Behavior (COMFORT-B) scale, a visual analog scale, and a numeric rating scale were used by health professionals and caregivers to assess subjects' levels of comfort and satisfaction.ResultsA total of 113 nebulizations (64 via nebulizer with HFNC; 49 via jet nebulizer) were delivered to the 6 subjects included in the study. Use of the nebulizer with HFNC showed increased comfort and satisfaction during nebulization compared to use of the jet nebulizer, as measured by the COMFORT-B scale, the visual analog scale, and the numeric rating scale, with the following median (interquartile range) scores: 10.7 (7-16) versus 14.5 (10-20) (P = .006), 8.5 (6-10) versus 7 (4-9) (P = .02), and 3.84 (3.61-4.07) versus 1.83 (1.58-2.08) (P < .001), respectively. Correlation between the COMFORT-B scale and the visual analog scale using Spearman's rho was -0.757 (P < .001). The intraclass correlation coefficient for the COMFORT-B scale, visual analog scale, and numeric rating scale, as measured by 2 different nurses, was between 0.75 and 0.87.ConclusionsThe use of a nebulizer incorporated into HFNC therapy results in an increased level of comfort and satisfaction compared to the use of a conventional jet nebulizer in subjects with bronchiolitis who required HFNC therapy. Further studies are needed to determine whether aerosol therapy delivered through HFNC improves the clinical course of this pathology.Copyright © 2018 by Daedalus Enterprises.

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