HFNC During Bronchoscopy for Bronchoalveolar Lavage

The execution of diagnostic-therapeutic investigations by bronchial endoscopy can expose the patient to acute respiratory failure (ARF). In particular, the risk of hypoxemia is greater during broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL). For this reason, oxygen therapy is administered at low or high flows during the course of bronchoscopic procedures, in order to avoid hypoxemia. Few clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of high flow oxygen through nasal cannula (HFNC) during BAL procedures, and no study has evaluated, during bronchial endoscopy, the effects of HFNC on diaphragmatic effort (assessed with ultrasound) and aeration and ventilation of the different lung regions (assessed with electrical impedance tomography). Therefore, investigators conceived the present randomized controlled study to evaluate possible differences existing during bronchoscopy between oxygen therapy administered with HFNC and conventional (low-flow) oxygen therapy, delivered through nasal cannula.