Impact of Body Mass Index on the Use of Prone Vigil and High-Flow Nasal Cannula in Pattients with COVID-19

SUMMARY; The aim of the study was to determine whether body composition is a condition influencing the effect of awake prone positioning (APP) in patients with COVID-19 connected to high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC). We conducted a retrospective observational study and analyzed the therapeutic outcomes of 83 patients treated with HFNC in the medicine department of Hospital El Carmen (HEC), Santiago, Chile. The following information was obtained from the electronic clinical record (Florence clinical version 19.3) and the kinesic registry: i) patient history, ii) medical diagnosis, iii) body mass index (BMI), iv) characteristics of the APP and v) characteristics of the process of connection to CNAF. It was observed that there were significant differences in overweight and obese patients who used the PPV (p=0.001) through the ROX index (IROX) at the end of treatment with CNAF, occurring in the same way when evaluating the effects of the APP and in the PAFI in these same groups. In conclusion, BMI is a further aggravating factor that conditions the health of patients with COVID-19, and elevated BMI can negatively affect the treatment of these patients. On the other hand, the use of APP and CNAF proved to be effective in patients with COVID-19.