Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Crit Care Med. Jun 9, 2026; 15(2): 118285
Published online Jun 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i2.118285
Published online Jun 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i2.118285
High-flow nasal cannula for hypoxia in the post-anesthetic recovery unit: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Cheng Lin, Kevin R Song, Qing Hao Li, Gopakumar S Nair, Sonny Cheng, Kamal Kumar, Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, ON N6A 5A5, Canada
Author contributions: Lin C contributed to design and implementation of the study, statistical analysis, and writing of the manuscript; Song KR and Li QH contributed to acquisition of data and writing of the manuscript; Nair GS and Cheng S contributed to design and implementation of the study and revision of the manuscript; Kumar K contributed to quality and professional revision.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Cheng Lin, Associate Professor, FRCPC, Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, University Hospital, No. 800 Commissioners Road East, London, ON N6A 5A5, Canada. cheng.lin@lhsc.on.ca
Received: December 29, 2025
Revised: January 25, 2026
Accepted: February 24, 2026
Published online: June 9, 2026
Processing time: 144 Days and 2.2 Hours
Revised: January 25, 2026
Accepted: February 24, 2026
Published online: June 9, 2026
Processing time: 144 Days and 2.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: High-flow nasal cannula has beneficial effect on prevention of atelectasis and hypoxemia compared to conventional oxygen therapy. However, it does not reduce the risk of clinical outcomes including reintubation, therapy escalation, pneumonia, postoperative pulmonary complication, mortality, or prolonged hospital or intensive care unit stay.