myAIRVO2 for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The technology described in this briefing is myAIRVO2. It is designed to warm and humidify respiratory gases used for nasal high-flow therapy. This briefing focuses on its potential use in a community setting.

The innovative aspects are that myAIRVO2 is designed to allow the delivery of nasal high-flow therapy in a community setting. It is also designed to allow clinicians to titrate flow and oxygen independently from one another and does not need a sealed interface.

The intended place in therapy would be as well as standard management in the home or long-term care environment for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) having nasal high-flow oxygen therapy.

The main points from the evidence summarised in this briefing are from 5 studies, 1 randomised controlled trial and 4 randomised crossover trials including a total of 232 adults. They show that myAIRVO2 is at least as effective as non-humidified and unwarmed gases in patients with COPD and has the potential to reduce hospital admissions.

Key uncertainties around the evidence relate to the lack of follow‑up to show the long-term positive effects of myAIRVO2 and the generalisability to UK NHS practice. There are also uncertainties around which patient group nasal high-flow therapy would most benefit in a community setting and if it should be used with or instead of current treatments.

The cost of myAIRVO2 is £2,475 per unit (excluding VAT). The overall resource impact is uncertain because there is no published evidence assessing the resource consequences of myAIRVO2 in a community setting. More information on this would be helpful.