Comparison of Oxygen Delivery Devices in Postoperative Patients with Hypoxemia: An Open-labeled Randomized Controlled Study

Background: Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is among the more commonly occurring complications in postoperative patients.Supplemental oxygen and addressing the primary etiology form the basis of its treatment. Materials and methods:We conducted an open-labeled randomized control trial with 90 adult patients and compared three oxygen delivery vehicles (ODV), i.e., noninvasive ventilation (NIV), high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), and venturi mask (VM) in postoperative hypoxemic patients.The primary outcome variable was a change in the P/F ratio after 2 hours of use of ODV.Results: It was observed that the change in P/F ratio after 2 hours was similar in all three ODV groups (p = 0.274).The mean values of the post-ODV P/F ratio were comparable with the pre-ODV P/F ratio in all three modalities.The P/F ratio after HFNC was 358.08 ± 117.95; after NIV was 357.60 ± 220.67; and after VM was 355.47 ± 101.90 (p = 0.997).Conclusion: Among HFNC, NIV, and VM, none of the devices proved superior to the other for use in postoperative hypoxemia.