The Acceptability of Nasal High Flow (NHF) at Home in Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRDs) - Cross-secional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) encompasses obstructive lung diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), bronchiectasis, and restrictive lung diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (Momtazmanesh et al., 2023). Chronic Disabling Breathlessness (CDB) is a common symptom of CRD that significantly impairs QoL (Kochovska et al., 2023). Healthcare professionals (HCPs) have a crucial role in imparting knowledge to patients (Voigt-Barbarowicz and Brütt, 2020).

Background: There is a need for a new non-pharmacological intervention. Nasal High-Flow (NHF) is a heated/humidifier that can deliver airflow alone (NHFA) or in conjunction with O₂ (NHFO) (Sharma et al., 2020). This offers a promising alternative non-pharmacological intervention that can relieve CDB in CRD.

Purpose: This questionnaire explored HCPs’ perspectives on current breathlessness treatments and the acceptability of NHFA as a treatment for patients with CRDs and CDB.

Methods: A 32-question cross-sectional questionnaire was designed by an MSc Respiratory Clinical Science student from University College London (UCL). The survey was distributed among HCPs' to explore their perspectives on breathlessness treatments and the acceptability of NHFA as a new breathlessness intervention.

Results: The survey found that a majority of HCPs (70% ) believe that medicinal air relieves CDB in CRD patients. A majority of HCPs (92.6%) think NHFA could manage CRD-related breathlessness. a majority of HCPs (74.5 %) believe CDB and CRD patients can utilise NHFA therapy at home.

Discussion: This research investigated the perspectives of HCPs regarding NHFA therapy and its feasibility as a novel technique to address breathlessness in a home setting.

Conclusions: NHFA gained widespread acceptance as a novel therapeutic approach among HCPs with expertise in the management of debilitating breathlessness. These professionals hold the view that NHFA can be effectively administered in a home-based setting. Yet, HCPs have reported various adverse effects that could potentially restrict the utilisation of the device.