Effect of postoperative administration of inhaled nitric oxide combined with high‐frequency oscillatory ventilation in infants with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension after congenital heart surgery: A retrospective cohort study

Objective: To evaluate the effect of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) combined with high‐frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) in the treatment of infants with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) after congenital heart surgery. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 63 infants with AHRF and PH after congenital heart surgery in our cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) from January 2020 to March 2021. A total of 24 infants in the A group were treated with HFOV combined with iNO, and 39 infants in the B group were treated with HFOV. Relevant clinical data were collected. Results: Comparing the two groups, the improvement of the oxygenation index, PaO2 and PaO2/FiO2 was more obvious for patients in the A group than for those in the B group after intervention (p <.05). Reexamination on the third day after the initiation of HFOV treatment indicated that the systolic pulmonary artery pressure in the A group was significantly lower than that in the B group (p <.05). In addition, the duration of mechanical ventilation and the length of CICU stay in the A group were shorter than those in the B group (p <.05). However, complications between the two groups were not statistically significant. No important adverse effects arose. Conclusions: For infants with AHRF and PH after congenital heart surgery, iNO combined with HFOV is superior to HFOV alone to improve oxygenation, decrease pulmonary pressure, and shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation and the length of CICU stay, with no adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]