OXYGEN USE IN COVID TREATMENT

OXYGEN USE IN COVID TREATMENT

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Even if one’s oxygen saturation level is 92 to 94 per cent, there may not be any reason to panic, AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria has said

Concept :

• In a webinar on oxygen therapy for Covid-19 treatment, organised by AIIMS, experts on Wednesday emphasised that oxygen therapy is more important than ventilation as more people on oxygen therapy can be brought back to life.
• But equally important is saving oxygen and not overusing it. If someone’s oxygen saturation is around 95 per cent, trying to bring that to 98 or 99 per cent is futile.

Oxygen used in Covid-19 clinical management

• According to the clinical management protocol, under the following conditions persons require oxygen:
• a person is suffering from moderate disease;
• a person is diagnosed with pneumonia with no signs of severe disease;
• presence of clinical features of dyspnea (shortness of breath) and/or hypoxia (no oxygen supply at the tissue level);
• fever, cough, including SpO2 (oxygen saturation level) less than 94% (range 90-94%) in room air;
• When respiratory distress of the patient cannot be alleviated after receiving standard oxygen therapy, high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNO) or non-invasive ventilation can be done.
• But patients with hypercapnia (exacerbation of obstructive lung disease), hemodynamic instability, multi-organ failure, or abnormal mental status should generally not receive HFNO.