Use of heliox delivered via high-flow nasal cannula to treat an infant with coronavirus-related respiratory infection and severe acute air-flow obstruction.

Heliox, a helium-oxygen gas mixture, has been used for many decades to treat obstructive pulmonary disease. The lower density and higher viscosity of heliox relative to nitrogen-oxygen mixtures can significantly reduce airway resistance when an anatomic upper air-flow obstruction is present and gas flow is turbulent. Clinically, heliox can decrease airway resistance in acute asthma in adults and children and in COPD.