Early Versus Late Endotracheal Intubation in Subjects with COVID-19 Pneumonia Treated with High-Flow Oxygen: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Introduction: The availability of high-flow oxygen (HFO) machines allowed patients with COVID-19 pneumonia to be comfortably treated for longer periods of time until endotracheal intubation became inevitable. Patients treated with invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) preceded by HFO treatment may continue to progress and die. Hence there is a belief in physicians that patients treated with HFO might have delayed invasive MV.