Experience of using heliox in the treatment of viral pneumonia in COVID-19

Abstract

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, finding new treatments is an extremely important issue. The effectiveness of heliox was previously demonstrated
in the complex treatment of patients with various bronchopulmonary pathologies. Therefore, this method has been recommended for the treatment of pneumonia associated with COVID-19. Purpose. To study the safety and efficacy of inhaled heliox therapy in the treatment of pneumonia in COVID-19. Materials and methods. A single-center prospective study was carried out for the period from 01.12.2020 to 15.02.2021. The study included 91 patients.
The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (using heliox) included 46 people, and group 2 (control) — 45. Inhalations of a heated oxygen-helium mixture heliox (70% helium, 30% oxygen) were carried out using “Ingalit-B2-01” inhaler. Objective (saturation, O2 flow) and laboratory parameters (lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein), as well as chest organs CT data were studied. 

Differences between groups were determined using the ?2 test, as well as the Mann–Whitney U-test. The p value <0.05 was considered significant. Results. In group 1, side effects developed in 5 (11.3%) patients. These patients refused to further participate in the study. Final number of patients in group 1 — 41. Among patients of group 1, there was a tendency towards a more rapid normalization of lactate dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein, as well as a decrease in oxygen dependence. In group 1, according to CT data, no progression of pneumonia was recorded. In group 2, progression was observed in 6 (13.3%) patients. The overall effectiveness of treatment among patients in group 1 was 100%, among patients in group 2 — 86.7%. The differences between the groups are statistically significant (p=0.02).

Conclusion. The use of inhalations with a heated oxygen-helium mixture heliox (30% oxygen, 70% helium) has shown its effectiveness and safety in the treatment of viral pneumonia (CT1- 2) associated with COVID-19.