A FEASIBILITY study has found that home high-flow therapy (HFT) may help improve recovery for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) following severe acute exacerbations (AECOPD), paving the way for larger trials to assess its full potential.
The mixed-methods randomised controlled trial evaluated the effects of adding HFT to usual care in COPD patients recovering from AECOPD. Patients were provided with a home-based HFT device delivering heated, humidified air at 30 L/min for four weeks. Outcomes measured included symptom burden, quality of life, and physiological parameters.
The study recruited 18 of 45 eligible patients (mean age 69 years, 44% female) and achieved a high rate of data collection, with over 90% of home assessments completed. Importantly, there were no device-related serious adverse events. Patients used the HFT device for an average of 2.7 hours daily in the first week, decreasing slightly to 2.3 hours by week four. Higher device usage was associated with improved symptom scores on the COPD Assessment Test (CAT, p=0.01).
Participants reported ease of device use, reduced reliance on salbutamol, and better sputum clearance during interviews, underscoring the therapy’s potential benefits.
“These findings provide the foundation for a larger phase 3 trial to determine whether home HFT can improve admission-free survival in COPD patients after severe exacerbations,” the researchers stated.
With a 30-day hospital readmission rate of 20% for AECOPD patients, home HFT could represent a transformative approach to improving recovery and reducing healthcare burden.
Aleksandra Zurowska, EMJ
Reference
D’Cruz RF et al. Home high-flow therapy during recovery from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation: a mixed-methods feasibility randomised control trial. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2025;12:e002698.
