The Role of Non-Invasive Respiratory Support in Pediatric Critical Care

In UK Pecanet which is all UK data of pediatric intensive care units, two-thirds of patients in 2018 to 2020 were offered some form of invasive or non-invasive respiratory support. High flow nasal cannula has become very popular over the last decade or so and it has a few advantages compared to the alternative of CPAP. The main mechanism we think currently for its action is through nasopharyngeal washout of the dead space but it also does produce some degree of distending pressure that might contribute towards increasing functional residual capacity.