Summary of recommendations and key points of the consensus of Spanish scientific societies (SEPAR, SEMICYUC, SEMES; SECIP, SENEO, SEDAR, SENP) on the use of non-invasive ventilation and high-flow oxygen therapy with nasal cannulas in adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with severe acute respiratory failure

Non-invasive respiratory support (NIRS) in adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) comprises two treatment modalities, non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy. However, experts from different specialties disagree on the benefit of these techniques in different clinical settings. The objective of this consensus was to develop a series of good clinical practice recommendations for the application of non-invasive support in patients with ARF, endorsed by all scientific societies involved in the management of adult and pediatric/neonatal patients with ARF. To this end, the different societies involved were contacted, and they in turn appointed a group of 26 professionals with sufficient experience in the use of these techniques. Three face-to-face meetings were held to agree on recommendations (up to a total of 71) based on a literature review and the latest evidence associated with 3 categories: indications, monitoring and follow-up of NIRS. Finally, the experts from each scientific society involved voted telematically on each of the recommendations. To classify the degree of agreement, an analogue classification system was chosen that was easy and intuitive to use and that clearly stated whether the each NIRS intervention should be applied, could be applied, or should not be applied.

Summary of recommendations and key points of the consensus of Spanish scientific societies (SEPAR, SEMICYUC, SEMES; SECIP, SENEO, SEDAR, SENP) on the use of non-invasive ventilation and high-flow oxygen therapy with nasal cannulas in adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with severe acute respiratory failure

Non-invasive respiratory support (NIRS) in adult, pediatric, and neonatal patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) comprises two treatment modalities, non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy. However, experts from different specialties disagree on the benefit of these techniques in different clinical settings. The objective of this consensus was to develop a series of good clinical practice recommendations for the application of non-invasive support in patients with ARF, endorsed by all scientific societies involved in the management of adult and pediatric/neonatal patients with ARF. To this end, the different societies involved were contacted, and they in turn appointed a group of 26 professionals with sufficient experience in the use of these techniques. Three face-to-face meetings were held to agree on recommendations (up to a total of 71) based on a literature review and the latest evidence associated with 3 categories: indications, monitoring and follow-up of NIRS. Finally, the experts from each scientific society involved voted telematically on each of the recommendations. To classify the degree of agreement, an analogue classification system was chosen that was easy and intuitive to use and that clearly stated whether the each NIRS intervention should be applied, could be applied, or should not be applied.

Clinical Consensus Recommendations Regarding Non-Invasive Respiratory Support in the Adult Patient with Acute Respiratory Failure Secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection caused by a newly emergent coronavirus, that was first recognized in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the infection as a global pandemic and there is a health and social emergency for the management of this new infection. While most people with COVID-19 develop only mild or uncomplicated illness, approximately 14% develop severe disease that requires hospitalization and oxygen support, and 5% require admission to an intensive care unit. In severe cases, COVID-19 can be complicated by the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock, and multiorgan failure. This consensus document has been prepared on evidence-informed guidelines developed by a multidisciplinary panel of health care providers from four Spanish scientific societies (Spanish Society of Intensive Care Medicine [SEMICYUC], Spanish Society of Pulmonologists [SEPAR], Spanish Society of Emergency [SEMES], Spanish Society of Anesthesiology, Reanimation, and Pain [SEDAR]) with experience in the clinical management of patients with COVID-19 and other viral infections, including SARS, as well as sepsis and ARDS. The document provides clinical recommendations for the noninvasive respiratory support (noninvasive ventilation, high flow oxygen therapy with nasal cannula) in any patient with suspected or confirmed presentation of COVID-19 with acute respiratory failure. This consensus guidance should serve as a foundation for optimized supportive care to ensure the best possible chance for survival and to allow for reliable comparison of investigational therapeutic interventions as part of randomized controlled trials.

[Validity of a portable recording system (MESAM IV) for the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome]

The development of inexpensive tools for diagnosing sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a result of the high prevalence of this condition and of the high cost of polysomnograms (PS). MESAM IV is a portable device that records changes in oxygen saturation (SO2), heart rate (HR) and snoring (S). Readings can be automatic or manual, the latter in function of an events index (EI), with a graph of the three variables generated. We carried out a simultaneous study of 51 subjects suspected of having SAS who were referred to the sleep unit by the pneumology outpatient clinic. PS was interpreted manually at 30-sec intervals as recommended by the American Thoracic Society. An apnea/hypoapnea index (AHI) > or = 10/hour of sleep was used as the cutoff point for SAS. Thirty-two (63%) subjects were found to have SAS as indicated by PS. The rate of agreement between AHI and automatic analysis of SO2, HR and S was only moderate (intra-group correlation coefficients -ICC- of 0.50, 0.40, and 0.53, respectively) and was inferior to manual analysis with EI (ICC of 0.77). Assessment of diagnostic efficacy of automatic analysis in terms of sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) yielded the following results: SO2 (SEN 94%, SPE 26%, PPV 68% and NPV 71%), HR (SEN 59%, SPE 58%, PPV 70%, NPV 46%); S (SEN 84%, SPE 26%, PPV 66%, NPV 50%). Manual analysis (EI) gave more valid results (SEN 100%, SPE 84%, PPV 91%, NPV 100%). If patients with chronic obstructive lung disease are excluded, however, the results for automatic analysis improve: SEN 100%, SPE 91%, PPV 96%, NPV 100%. These results show that MESAM IV is of great help in diagnosing SAS, allowing better screening for identifying candidates for PS.