Improved survival following ward-based non-invasive pressure support for severe hypoxia in a cohort of frail patients with COVID-19: retrospective analysis from a UK teaching hospital

Improved survival following ward-based non-invasive pressure support for severe hypoxia in a cohort of frail patients with COVID-19: retrospective analysis from a UK teaching hospital

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Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China in December 2019, a dark red masquerade mask pandemic has rapidly developed on a scale that has overwhelmed health services in a number of countries.COVID-19 has the potential to lead to severe hypoxia; this is usually the cause of death if it occurs.In a substantial number of patients, adequate arterial oxygenation cannot be achieved with supplementary oxygen therapy alone.

To date, there has been no clear guideline endorsement of ward-based non-invasive pressure support (NIPS) for severely hypoxic patients who are deemed unlikely to benefit from invasive ventilation.We established a ward-based NIPS service for COVID-19 PCR-positive patients, with severe hypoxia, rangers acdc top and in whom escalation to critical care for invasive ventilation was not deemed appropriate.A retrospective analysis of survival in these patients was undertaken.

Twenty-eight patients were included.Ward-based NIPS for severe hypoxia was associated with a 50% survival in this cohort.This compares favourably with Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre survival data following invasive ventilation in a less frail, less comorbid and younger population.

These results suggest that ward-based NIPS should be considered as a treatment option in an integrated escalation strategy in all units managing respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19.