With hospitals around the country desperately short of ventilators as the COVID-19 crisis intensifies, some doctors are calling for a rethink of how they are used, arguing that a new disease might require a new approach. Skeptics, who note that studies show more than half of coronavirus patients placed on ventilators do not survive, fear they may be doing more harm than good for some patients, Yahoo News reports. Officials in New York City say up to 80% of COVID-19 patients placed on machines died. Doctors say that with ventilators in short supply, they are trying new treatments to keep patients off ventilators for as long as possible, including less invasive nose tubes and placing patients in different positions to aid breathing. More:
- Ventilation "is not benign." Mechanical ventilation, which forces oxygen into a patient's lungs after they are sedated, can damage lung sacs over time. Some doctors believe it can also trigger a dangerous immune system reaction. "We know that mechanical ventilation is not benign," Dr. Eddy Fan, an expert on respiratory treatment at Toronto General Hospital, tells the AP. “One of the most important findings in the last few decades is that medical ventilation can worsen lung injury—so we have to be careful how we use it."