High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy in a Palliative Care Unit: Three Cases of Cancer Patients Suffering from Severe Dyspnea with Respiratory Failure
- VernacularTitle:緩和ケア病棟において高流量鼻カニュラ酸素療法を使用した3症例
- Author:
Yutaro SUZUKI
1
;
Shigeki ONO
1
;
Yurika ISHIKAWA
1
;
Masayuki KANESHIMA
1
;
Tetsumi SATO
1
Author Information
- Keywords: high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC); dyspnea; palliative care; end of life; quality of life
- From:Palliative Care Research 2024;19(1):1-5
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNC) in palliative care is mentioned in several guidelines, however, the indication for this procedure has not been established yet. At our department, HFNC has increasingly been adopted for end-stage cancer patients when their dyspnea needs to be alleviated. This is a case report on three patients treated with this procedure at our department. Although they had severe dyspnea with respiratory failure, their daily activities, such as enjoying meals and conversation with their families, were improved with HFNC. It can be a treatment of choice to maintain and improve patients’ quality of life (QOL) in palliative setting, where benefits and risks should be considered for each patient.
