High-Flow or Standard O2 for Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure?

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is a leading cause of ICU admission worldwide.  Oxygen is first-line therapy for patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and can be given via nasal cannula (NC), non-rebreather mask (NRB), high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC), or noninvasive ventilation (NIV). At present, the literature is inconsistent on which mode of oxygen therapy reduces mortality.  In this podcast, we discuss the recently published SOHO Trial, that assessed whether HFNC was superior to standard oxygen therapy in reducing mortality in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.