Background: High-flow oxygen therapy is an ideal treatment for managing respiratory failure. It avoids orotracheal intubation; however, some patients are refractory to this treatment. The ROX Index aims to detect early failure in high-flow oxygen therapy; nevertheless, its use has been poorly studied in pediatrics. Objective: To evaluate the applicability of the ROX Index as a tool to determine the failure of high-flow oxygen therapy in pediatric patients admitted to the Roberto Gilbert Hospital. Methodology: Observational, prospective, longitudinal cohort study with a descriptive approach including 209 patients between 1 month and 17 years old who required high-flow oxygen therapy within the first 24 hours. ROX Index measurements were taken at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours with follow-up to determine the outcome. Result: A total of 209 patients meeting the inclusion criteria were obtained; 27 (12.9%) required endotracheal intubation (ETI), and 182 (87%) received high-flow oxygen therapy (HFNC). A higher frequency of younger infants was observed among patients who required ETI, with a median age of 12 months. A significant difference in the ROX index was found from two hours onwards with cutoff points on the AUROC curve above 0.5. Conclusion: It was determined that the ROX Index can be used as a complementary tool to strengthen decision-making in pediatrics.
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