Table 1 Characteristics of patients, according to the study group.*
Characteristic | Helmet noninvasive ventilation (N = 35) | High-flow nasal oxygen (N = 36) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
Age (years) | 67 [53–73] | 59 [53–69] | 0.10 |
Female sex—N (%) | 9 (26) | 4 (11) | 0.14 |
Body Mass indexa | 27 [26–30] | 28 [25–32] | 0.94 |
Most relevant comorbiditiesb | |||
 Hypertension—N (%) | 16 (46) | 18 (50) | 0.81 |
 Type 2 diabetes mellitus—N (%) | 9 (26) | 5 (14) | 0.25 |
 Smoking—N (%) | 11 (31) | 17 (47) | 0.23 |
 Immunocompromised state—N (%) | 3 (9) | 3 (8) | > 0.99 |
  Recent chemotherapy—N (%) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | – |
  Human Immunodeficiency Virus—N (%) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | – |
  Immunosuppressive therapy–renal transplant—N (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | – |
  Acute myeloid leukemia—N (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | – |
  Ulcerative colitis-immunosuppressive therapy—N (%) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | – |
History of cancer—N (%) | 4 (11) | 0 (0) | 0.05 |
Neurological conditions—N (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | – |
SAPS IIc | 32 [24–35] | 27 [24–32] | 0.04 |
SOFAd | 2 [2–3] | 2 [2–3] | 0.46 |
Bilateral lung injurye—N (%) | 35 (100) | 36 (100) |  |
Intubation during COVID hospitalization—N (%) | 3 (9) | 14 (39) | 0.005 |
Respiratory support free days | 22 [15–25] | 21 [11–23] | 0.24 |
 Hours to endotracheal intubation | 52 [5–70] | 11 [3–23] | 0.16 |
Invasive ventilation-free days | |||
 28 days | 28 [28–28] | 28 [17–28] | 0.003 |
 60 days | 60 [60–60] | 60 [49–60] | 0.004 |
Duration of stay, days | |||
 Intensive care unit | 7 [3–10] | 8 [4–16] | 0.26 |
 Hospital | 18 [14–27] | 19 [13–38] | 0.75 |
Tracheostomy—N (%) | 1 (3) | 7 (19) | 0.05 |
Rescue therapies | |||
 Paralysis—N (%) | 3 (9) | 13 (36) | 0.13 |
 Prone positioning—N (%) | 3 (9) | 10 (28) | 0.42 |
 Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation—N (%) | 0 (0) | 3 (8) | 0.24 |