Can Prophylactic High Flow of Humidified and Warmed Filtered Air Improve Survival from Bacterial Pneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 in Elderly Individuals? The Role of Surfactant Protein A
Ata Abbasi,
David S. Phelps,
Radhika Ravi,
Joanna Floros
Affiliations
Ata Abbasi
Department of Pathology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia 5714783734, Iran
David S. Phelps
Center for Host Defense, Inflammation, and Lung Disease (CHILD) Research, Department of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
Radhika Ravi
Division of Anesthesia, Department of Surgery, Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, 385 Tremont Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA
Joanna Floros
Center for Host Defense, Inflammation, and Lung Disease (CHILD) Research, Department of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA
In this opinion article, we discuss a serendipitous observation we made in a study investigating survival in aged mice after bacterial infection. This observation involved a non-invasive ventilation approach that led to variable and higher survival in male and female mice with different genetic backgrounds for the innate immune molecule, surfactant protein A (SP-A). We suggest that employing the best ventilatory modality, whether that be HFNC or another method, may augment the role of other factors such as SP-A genetics and sex in a personalized approach, and may ultimately improve the outcome.
