Posted on 04/08/2020 6:08:52 PM PDT by CaptainK
Even as hospitals and governors raise the alarm about a shortage of ventilators, some critical care physicians are questioning the widespread use of the breathing machines for Covid-19 patients, saying that large numbers of patients could instead be treated with less intensive respiratory support.
If the iconoclasts are right, putting coronavirus patients on ventilators could be of little benefit to many and even harmful to some.
What’s driving this reassessment is a baffling observation about Covid-19: Many patients have blood oxygen levels so low they should be dead. But they’re not gasping for air, their hearts aren’t racing, and their brains show no signs of blinking off from lack of oxygen.
That is making critical care physicians suspect that blood levels of oxygen, which for decades have driven decisions about breathing support for patients with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress, might be misleading them about how to care for those with Covid-19. In particular, more and more are concerned about the use of intubation and mechanical ventilators. They argue that more patients could receive simpler, noninvasive respiratory support, such as the breathing masks used in sleep apnea, at least to start with and maybe for the duration of the illness.
“The patients in front of me are unlike any I’ve ever seen,” Kyle-Sidell told Medscape about those he cared for in a hard-hit Brooklyn hospital. “They looked a lot more like they had altitude sickness than pneumonia.”
(Excerpt) Read more at statnews.com ...
They need to give them Viagra.
At today’s briefing, POTUS mentioned the number of vents that we have on hand, today....something like 10K in storage (in addition to the 8k already shipped) and 2k more, arriving next week.
Did Democrat politicians get anything right in the fight against coronavirus?
“...some critical care physicians are questioning the widespread use of the breathing machines for Covid-19 patients, saying that large numbers of patients could instead be treated with less intensive respiratory support....”
***************************************************************
Fewer trips to the ventilators and FEWER DEATHS?
our hospital and er are not even at half capacity. ventilators and masks a plenty. virology lab after a big flux at the start now has 50% over capacity on covid pcr testing. of course we’re not in nyc.
I watched his (Kyle-Sidell) video, the one where he says ventilators may be the wrong thing to use because their lungs are working just fine. It’s the Covid-19 virus that is attaching itself to the red blood cells and preventing the red blood cells from absorbing the air to carry to other organs, if I remember correctly. Now it sounds like he is saying something quite different.
Apparently CV attacks hemoglobin and wipes out the Fe.
Blood transfusions are apparently better than intubation.
Perhaps New York City is getting invalid results from their Oxygen tests.
Time to check the tests?
Also, they need skilled technicians to draw blood from an artery, usually in the wrist.
The pain can be significant, especially if they miss the artery (which they cannot see) and have to repeat deep jabs.
Maybe NYC has idiot techs who draw low oxygen blood from veins after they get tired of listening to screaming patients?
What a freaking lie...ventilators running out??? There’s like a monster surplus all around the country. We are being scammed big time by two fake doctors.
Democrats WANT dead victims. That helps them regain the Senate and put Joe Biden in the White House.
Venous as the source for a blood gas is pretty apparent from the set of results. The RTs obtaining arterial blood gases are skilled, admit when they can’t get it, and ask if venous is alright.
[Everyday in every way this disease gets stranger and stranger. ]
ER visits are down because people are no longer going to them (inappropriately) for primary care. A lot more of what shows up now is true emergencies.
they are not getting Slow Joe in the whitehouse
However they are trying to take over the senate and keep the house, that is their game here.
Slow Joe is just a placeholder that won’t hurt the down ballots. That was the problem with Bernie was that he was going to harm the down ballots, and that is why the DNC/Media turned on him and destroyed him (of course Bernie didn’t help by saying how great Cuba is).
Viagra would certainly increase nitric oxide & blood flow.
Don’t remember the source but it was about how blood vessels adapt to damaged parts of the lungs and O2 supplement would suffice.
It is no secret that ventilators can damage the lungs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.