Comparison of the Surgical Facemask With the Double-trunk Mask on Oxygenation in COVID-19

The Effects of Two Systems Above Low-flow Nasal Cannula on Arterial Oxygen Tension in Patients With COVID-19 : Surgical Face Mask Versus Double-trunk Mask

This study will compare the impact of two systems above low-flow nasal cannula on the arterial oxygen tension in patients with COVID-19. The two systems are the Surgical Mask (SM) and the Double-Trunk Mask (DTM).

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 typically present with hypoxemia. In some patients, hypoxemia can be corrected with low flow nasal cannula. When placed above nasal cannula, some systems have demonstrated their interest in improving the performance of patient's oxygen delivery. For example, two recent studies have shown that adding a Double-Trunk Mask (DTM) or Surgical Mask (SM) above nasal cannula has the potential to improve the PaO2 despite no change in oxygen output (Duprez et al., J Clin Monit Comput 2020; Montiel et al., Ann Intensive Care 2020). However, there is no study comparing the relative effectiveness of these 2 systems.

Inclusion Criteria:

• COVID-19 positive
• SpO2 between 92 and 96% with low-flow oxygen therapy
• Oxygen output at baseline between 3 and 7 L/min.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pulmonary disease with hypercapnia
• Confusion
• Contra-indications to arterial blood gas sampling (peripheral arteriopathy, bleeding disorder)