A randomised study of high flow nasal cannula therapy in bronchiolitis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled trial of high flow nasal cannula therapy (HFNC) versus continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in infants with severe bronchiolitis: a feasibility study
IRAS ID
162968
Contact name
Padmanabhan Ramnarayan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Bronchiolitis is a common chest infection that affects babies, mainly in winter months. Roughly 1 in 10 babies admitted to hospital with severe bronchiolitis require breathing assistance. Support for breathing is currently provided as continuous pressurised oxygen/air through the nose (CPAP). If babies worsen despite CPAP, they need to be put on a ventilator. Ventilated babies require transfer to a specialist children’s intensive care unit (PICU), which may be several miles away, end up spending longer in hospital, and may have breathing problems for months afterwards. PICU beds are also scarce and very costly.
In this feasibility study, we are comparing the effectiveness of CPAP with high flow nasal cannula (HFNC), a newer method of breathing support, in babies with severe bronchiolitis. We do not know for sure how useful HFNC is in babies with bronchiolitis because there is no published scientific research comparing it with CPAP. However, since HFNC is easier to use and is better tolerated by babies, many hospitals are starting to use HFNC instead of CPAP.In this study, we will randomly allocate babies with bronchiolitis to receive either HFNC or CPAP, and test whether sufficient number of babies can be recruited to the study, and whether clinicians are willing to participate. We will also collect information regarding the number of babies needing ventilation in each group and other patient outcomes, and assess the use of tools to measure infant comfort and parental satisfaction. The trial will run over 6 months, and recruit 40 babies from 3 NHS hospitals. We will seek consent from parents/carers for their babies to be included in the study, usually before we start CPAP or HFNC, unless the baby needs emergency life-saving treatment, in which case we will defer consent until there is more time to discuss the study with parents/carers.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1483
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion