Background: Propofol based sedated anesthesia was widely used in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation and hypoxia/desaturation is one of the most frequent adverse events during this procedure. No effective methods have been found to prevent hypoxia/desaturation so far. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the incidence of hypoxia/desaturation was different between the high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy group (which can provide heated and humidified oxygen up to 60L/minute.) and the nasal cannula group.

Methods: In a randomized, prospective and double-blind study,100 patients undergo percutaneous radiofrequency ablation based on propofol sedation were assigned into two groups: the nasal cannula group (O2 \[6 L/minute\] was supplied via an HFNC) and the HFNC group (O2 \[40 L/minute\] was supplied via an HFNC). The primary outcome is the incidence of hypoxia/desaturation during surgery. Other adverse events were also recorded.