Key clinical point: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in patients with severe COVID-19 who are not likely to benefit from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) does not confer a survival advantage over oxygen alone.
Major finding: The overall 30-day mortality rate was 75.6% in the oxygen group vs 77.7% in the CPAP group (Pearson’s Chi-square, P = .8).
Study details: The data come from a retrospective multicentre cohort study involving 479 patients with COVID-19 ineligible for IMV from 7 UK hospitals. Patients given CPAP were compared with those receiving oxygen therapy.
Disclosures: L Pearmain is supported by the Medical Research Council, and TW Felton is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. AB reported relationships with Fisher and Paykel and Sanofi Genzyme. The remaining authors declared no conflict of interests.
Source: Bradley P et al. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Sep 8. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101122 .