RandomizEd Adaptive Trial of High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Cannula Compared to Non-Invasive Ventilation for AcuTE Respiratory Failure

RENOVATE will investigate if High-Flow Nasal Oxygen Cannula (HFNC) is non-inferior to Non-Invasive positive-pressure Ventilation (NIPPV) in preventing endotracheal intubation or death in adult patients with Acute Respiratory Failure (ARF) from different causes in 7 days. HFNC is a somewhat new method of respiratory support in adults that has been used in neonatal ARF for some years. Even though NIPPV has been demonstrated to prevent endotracheal intubation (and its associated complications) in a broad range of ARF patients, HFNC may have beneficial effect over NIPPV because it is easier to be tolerated, allowing patients to talk, eat and drink through mouth while on therapy. RENOVATE will recruit between 800 to 2000 patients (adaptive design) with different types of ARF in Brazil. The main hypothesis is that HFNC is non inferior to NIPPV in reducing intubation rate or death within 7 days. However, as an adaptive study, this non inferiority hypothesis may change to superiority if gathered data during the study is promissing in the interim analysis. Therefore, sample size may increase to 2000 participants. Patients will be randomized to HFNC or NIPPV and the rate of endotracheal intubation will be compared between groups as well as other parameters such as vital status and other health care related complications.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] On April 13, 2021, on the first interim analysis, the DSMB recommended the interruption of the immunocompromised hypoxemic ARF subgroup.

Trial Update:

We have collected Covid 19 information since march 2020 as an added question in the CRF. There are two questions: one in the elegibility criteria form asking if Covid 19 is suspected and another one in the discharge form asking if Covid 19 was laboratory confirmed. Since then, there were considerably change in prevalence of acute respiratory failure subgroups since the beginning of the trial in 2019. Covid 19, nowdays, is responsible for 63% of our sample size, followed by hypoxemic non immunocompromised subgroup with 19%, acute pulmonary edema and hypoxemic immunocompromised with 8% and finally COPD with 2%. These prevalences are completely different from our previous assumptions in 2019 trial simulations as published in our protocol and statistical analysis plan in March 2022 Volume 24 Number 1 at Critical Care Resuscitation journal. Therefore, the Steering Committee decided that all Covid 19 patients, independent of previous subgroup allocation, would be analysed separately in a 5th subgroup. Update in simulations with different scenarios and new statistical models were done by March 13th 2023 to account for the 5th interim analysis which you can access in the document section of ClinicalTrials.gov. No change in inclusion criteria were made. The only change was the introduction of those two questions described before. These updates are aimed at accommodating the presence of COVID-19 patients in the trial as the main subgroup of patients.