4 ms·

If you diagnose the pneumonia early, what’s the treatment? The article doesn’t say what they do for people that can prevent needing to go on a ventilator.

tptacek 7y ago
Presumably, oxygen supplementation. The problem he's describing is patients injuring their lungs by straining (unconsciously) to breath harder as their oxygen levels, on atmospheric oxygen, fall.
speakeron 7y ago
From the article: There are other things we can do as well to avoid immediately resorting to intubation and a ventilator. Patient positioning maneuvers (having patients lie on their stomach and sides) opens up the lower and posterior lungs most affected in Covid pneumonia. Oxygenation and positioning helped patients breathe easier and seemed to prevent progression of the disease in many cases. In a preliminary study by Dr. Caputo, this strategy helped keep three out of four patients with advanced Covid pneumonia from needing a ventilator in the first 24 hours.
gambiting 7y ago
A really stupid question - is oxygenating the blood externally a thing that is possible at all? Just like a dialysis machine filters the blood, is there a machine that can oxygenate the blood outside of the body?
- stmfreak 7y ago
  Yes, but much more expensive and problematic than putting someone on a ventilator. The machine itself gets clogged with clotted blood so thinners are required to delay that breakdown.
  - vanniv 7y ago
    And you thought the delirium caused by extended vent usage was exciting, wait till you read about pumphead syndrome!
- speakeron 7y ago
  Yes, it's called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The wiki article mentions that it was used on 3% of severe cases in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygenation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygen...
- viggity 7y ago
  yes, it is called an ECMO machine and they're very rare and IIRC they're only really used during heart or lung transplant surgeries.

tptacek 7y ago

Presumably, oxygen supplementation. The problem he's describing is patients injuring their lungs by straining (unconsciously) to breath harder as their oxygen levels, on atmospheric oxygen, fall.

speakeron 7y ago

From the article: There are other things we can do as well to avoid immediately resorting to intubation and a ventilator. Patient positioning maneuvers (having patients lie on their stomach and sides) opens up the lower and posterior lungs most affected in Covid pneumonia. Oxygenation and positioning helped patients breathe easier and seemed to prevent progression of the disease in many cases. In a preliminary study by Dr. Caputo, this strategy helped keep three out of four patients with advanced Covid pneumonia from needing a ventilator in the first 24 hours.

gambiting 7y ago

A really stupid question - is oxygenating the blood externally a thing that is possible at all? Just like a dialysis machine filters the blood, is there a machine that can oxygenate the blood outside of the body?

stmfreak 7y ago
Yes, but much more expensive and problematic than putting someone on a ventilator. The machine itself gets clogged with clotted blood so thinners are required to delay that breakdown.
- vanniv 7y ago
  And you thought the delirium caused by extended vent usage was exciting, wait till you read about pumphead syndrome!
speakeron 7y ago
Yes, it's called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The wiki article mentions that it was used on 3% of severe cases in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygenation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygen...
viggity 7y ago
yes, it is called an ECMO machine and they're very rare and IIRC they're only really used during heart or lung transplant surgeries.