Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest that prone positioning can increase PaO(2)/FiO(2) and reduce mortality in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Effect of prone positioning and high flow nasal oxygen has been studied individually in COVID-19 patients but their combined effect on patient's outcome is yet to be reported. METHODS: In this study 120 severe COVID-19 positive patients were included and placed in awake prone positioning with high flow nasal oxygen. The efficacy in improving oxygenation with prone positioning and high flow nasal oxygen were evaluated by blood gas analysis. The primary outcome was a proportion of patients requiring non-invasive ventilation or invasive ventilation. The secondary outcomes were a comparison of arterial blood gas parameters and biochemical inflammatory parameters pre proning, end of first proning and end of last prone position in these patients. RESULTS: We found only 35 patients (34.3%) required the need for non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation support whereas 67 patients (65.7%) were managed successfully on high flow nasal oxygen along with awake prone positioning (p = 0.001). We found there were statistically significant improvements in arterial blood gas parameters and biochemical inflammatory markers after the end of last prone positioning with high flow nasal oxygen. CONCLUSIONS: Early application of prone positioning in combination with high flow nasal oxygen may help in avoiding mechanical ventilation by improving oxygenation and biochemical inflammatory markers.