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Some doctors question wisdom of using ventilators on coronavirus patients
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco's leading newspaper)
Posted: May 3rd, 2020
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Some-doctors-que...
As California and other states stockpile ventilators to prepare for a surge of coronavirus patients, a debate is emerging among doctors across the country about whether the breathing machines actually hinder recovery from COVID-19. A few small studies from around the world have led some doctors to consider the possibility that placing COVID-19 patients on a ventilator hurts more than it helps, and may even increase their chance of dying. In general, putting someone on a ventilator is an extreme measure because it involves sedating patients and inserting a tube in their mouth and threading it through the airway into the lungs. Too much oxygen or pressure from the ventilator can damage the lungs. A study in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, found that out of 37 critically ill COVID-19 patients on ventilators, 30 died within a month. One report in Italy looked at 1,300 critically ill patients and found that 90% were intubated and put on a ventilator. Of those, a quarter died in the ICU. In New York City, 80% of coronavirus patients placed on ventilators have died, the Associated Press reported. The traditional approach is to say, lets just intubate them now while we still have a little bit of time, said Dr. Jahan Fahimi, medical director of UCSFs emergency room in San Francisco. Well, in COVID, were thinking thats not the right approach. But if you dont intubate them, its going to be much more labor intensive from the medical side, to watch these patients carefully on high-flow oxygen.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on health and the coronavirus pandemic from reliable major media sources.
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