Drs Padmanabhan Ramnarayan and  Paul Mouncey (both London) present the results of the FIRST-ABC trial, comparing high-flow nasal cannulae therapy with CPAP in acute ill children with respiratory failure, at the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2022. Dr Srinivas Murthy (Vancouver) delivers an editorial, which is followed by a panel discussion including Profs Kathryn Maitland (Kalifi), John Marshall (Toronto) and Marion Campbell (Aberdeen). The session is chaired by Prof Howard Bauchner.