Abstract: Background –Historically mechanical ventilation has been the only therapeutic tool when failing traditional oxygen therapy. The goal of this study is to describe the use of high velocity nasal insufflation (HVNI) in cats.
Hypothesis/Objectives –We hypothesized that HVNI would be effective and well tolerated in cats with respiratory distress.
Animals – 8 cats admitted to a referral center with respiratory distress refractory to traditional oxygen therapy.
Methods - Retrospective descriptive study between the years 2019 – 2022. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for signalment, indication for HVNI, complications while on HVNI, successful discontinuation of HVNI, and survival.
Results - A total of 8 cats had HVNI instituted between the years 2019-2022. Four cats underwent HVNI due to pneumonia, 1 secondary to acute respiratory distress syndrome, 1 post-thoracotomy for peritoneal-pericardial diaphragmatic hernia repair, and 2 were unknown respiratory disease. No cats underwent HVNI due to cardiac disease. The median time spent on HVNI was 17 hours (range 2-76 hours). The median flow rate was 1 L/kg (range 0.612-2.68). The median highest FiO2 recorded was 100% (range 50-100), and the median lowest FiO2 was 52.5% (range 40-100%).Three cats were successfully discontinued from HVNI and two cats survived to discharge. All cats tolerated HVNI without complication.
Conclusions and clinical importance - This is the first study to evaluate the use of HVNI for ventilatory support in cats. This study demonstrates that HVNI is a feasible option in cats requiring more aggressive treatment than traditional oxygen therapy without the use of mechanical ventilation.
