Is continuous positive airway pressure therapy in COVID-19 associated with an increased rate of pulmonary barotrauma?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 150 million people worldwide, with over 3 million deaths as of 6 May 2021 [1]. In the UK, approximately 15% of individuals affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have required admission to hospital [2] and those with severe disease require advanced respiratory support including invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) [3]. Due to the considerable scale of the pandemic, noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been utilised for COVID-19-related type I respiratory failure as a therapeutic strategy to improve patient outcomes [4, 5] and also to preserve IMV capacity during a challenging time for acute healthcare providers. However, its exact role is unclear and is the subject of a UK multicentre trial [6].