High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy Versus Conventional Oxygen Therapy in High-altitude Pulmonary Edema

August 9, 2026 updated by: Ye Fan, Third Military Medical University

High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy Versus Conventional Oxygen Therapy in Patients With High-altitude Pulmonary Edema: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

This study aims to evaluate whether High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy (HFNC) provides superior respiratory support compared to Conventional Oxygen Therapy (COT) in patients with High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Conventional Oxygen Therapy (COT) is the established first-line treatment for High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). Despite the proven efficacy of High-flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) in treating other forms of acute respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, its clinical role in the context of HAPE remains poorly defined. To address this gap, the investigators conducted a study comparing the efficacy of HFNC versus COT in providing respiratory support and accelerating clinical recovery for patients with HAPE.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
208

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Yiding Li, Dr.
  • Phone Number: +86 13101377031
  • Email: fygan@163.com

Study Locations

  • China
    • Tibet
      • Xigazê, Tibet, China, 857000
        • Recruiting
        • NO.953 Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 18 years or older;
  2. Onset of symptoms related to HAPE (including dyspnea at rest, cough, or exercise intolerance) within 7 days of ascending to high altitude (≥2500m);
  3. Diagnosis of HAPE according to the STAR data reporting guidelines, requiring at least two symptoms (dyspnea at rest, cough, weakness/decreased exercise performance, or chest tightness/congestion) and two clinical signs (rales or wheezing in at least one lung field, central cyanosis, tachypnea, or tachycardia);
  4. Radiographic evidence of pulmonary edema on chest X-ray or CT;
  5. Refusal or inability to undergo immediate descent at the time of presentation;
  6. Capability and willingness to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria:

  1. Known or clinically confirmed pregnancy;
  2. Requirement for emergency intubation (as assessed by the treating clinician) due to cardiac/respiratory arrest, hemodynamic instability, airway compromise, severe hypoxia, or impaired consciousness, etc;
  3. Pulmonary edema or hypoxemia resulting from other medical conditions (e.g., cardiogenic pulmonary edema, sepsis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumothorax, massive pleural effusion, chest trauma, etc.);
  4. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤ 12;
  5. PaCO₂ > 55 mmHg;
  6. Presence of high-altitude cerebral edema;
  7. Receipt of any respiratory support therapy (other than conventional oxygen therapy) prior to admission;
  8. Presence of any contraindication to conventional or nasal oxygen therapy;
  9. Presence of severe medical conditions or abnormal clinical laboratory findings that, in the investigator's judgment, may pose a risk to the patient's safety or interfere with the study's execution and participant completion;
  10. Current participation in other clinical trials;
  11. Refusal to sign the informed consent form.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention Group
High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy (HFNC) plus standard medical management
Device: High-flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy (HFNC)
High-flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) therapy was administered using a dedicated system with integrated active humidification and a heated-wire circuit, delivered via a wide-bore nasal cannula.
No Intervention: Control Group
Conventional Oxygen Therapy (COT) plus standard medical management

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of treatment failure
Time Frame: From date of randomization until the time of first documented treatment failure from any cause, assessed up to about 7 days.
Treatment failure: defined as the inability to achieve or maintain the target SpO2 despite optimized oxygen therapy, patient intolerance to the assigned oxygen therapy, or the need for treatment escalation (e.g., non-invasive ventilation or endotracheal intubation) and emergency descent to prevent further clinical deterioration.
From date of randomization until the time of first documented treatment failure from any cause, assessed up to about 7 days.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to weaning off supplemental oxygen
Time Frame: From date of randomization to oxygen therapy completion (oxygen weaning), an average of 3-5 days.
Hours from randomization to successful weaning to room air.
From date of randomization to oxygen therapy completion (oxygen weaning), an average of 3-5 days.
The Net change in Lung CT Severity Score
Time Frame: Day 3
Change in Lung CT Severity Score from baseline to Day 3 post-randomization
Day 3
Evolvement of SpO2
Time Frame: From enrollment to treatment completion, an average of 3-5 days.
SpO₂ is the percentage of oxygen-saturated hemoglobin in the blood, indicating how well oxygen is being delivered throughout the body. It was measured non-invasively using a pulse oximeter, a small device placed on a participant's fingertip, which uses light to estimate blood oxygen levels.
From enrollment to treatment completion, an average of 3-5 days.
Incidence of oxygen therapy-related complications
Time Frame: From randomization to discharge, assessed up to about 7 days.
Incidence of oxygen therapy-related complications during hospital stay.
From randomization to discharge, assessed up to about 7 days.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Third Military Medical University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ye Fan, Dr., Department of Respiratory Disease, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, 83 Xinqiao Zhengjie, Shapingba District, ChongQing 400000, China

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 22, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 22, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 9, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HiFlo-HAPE

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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