Clinical Research Directory

Effects of Non-invasive Ventilation Therapies on the Lung in Hypoxemic Chest Trauma Patients

Chest trauma is common in traumatology. Its management is based on ventilatory therapies, among which non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is commonly used. Some studies have shown the benefit of this therapy in hypoxemic patients, avoiding intubation, reducing length of stay and healthcare costs, and even reducing mortality. However, these studies are old and underpowered. High flow oxygen therapy (HFO), which is frequently used in everyday practice, has only one study in chest trauma. There is still a lack of data to really understand the effects of these techniques on the injured lung after trauma. Therefore, the investigators want to do a NIV or HFO session and directly assess the effects on participants' lungs by doing a CT at the end of the session. This is a procedure carried out within five days of the initial trauma and consists of either a 10-minute session of non-invasive ventilation or a 10-minute session of high-flow oxygen therapy, depending on which arm the participant is allocated to. Two chest CTs will be performed: the first as part of usual care before the non-invasive ventilation session or high flow oxygen therapy session, and the second immediately after the 10-minute session. The investigator's objective is to demonstrate an improvement in lung recruitment with NIV or HFO using CT imaging.