Efficiency of Oxygen Therapy by Simple Face Mask and Nasal Cannula for Acute Respiratory Failure in Infants and Young Children

Premises: Acute respiratory failure caused by respiratory diseases, which is a frequent pathology in infants and young children, requires oxygen therapy, which can be administered by different devices. Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency of two devices for oxygen administration by determining a clinical appraisal score for acute respiratory failure in infants and young children by oxygen therapy using simple face masks and nasal cannulas. Material and methods: 74 children, aged between one month and 3 years were included in our study. Oxygen therapy was administered by face mask to 38 patients, and by nasal cannula to 36 patients. A clinical appraisal score of respiratory failure was calculated both before and after oxygen therapy. Oxygen saturation was measured by pulse oximetry (SpO2) and arterial or capillary blood gas (SaO2) before, and 30 minutes and 60 minutes after the initiation of oxygen therapy. Results: We found an improvement in the clinical score regardless of the method of administration; this improvement was more obvious at 60 minutes than at the 30 min evaluation (p<0.001). The differences were statistically significant (p<0.0001) for all the measurements (baseline vs. 30 minutes, baseline vs. 60 minutes, 30 minutes vs. 60 minutes). An increase in both SaO2 and SpO2 values was found (p<0.001). Conclusions: The clinical score for acute respiratory failure and the SaO2 and SpO2 values significantly improved after oxygen therapy.