A Study Demonstrates That Prone Posture Enhances Survival In COVID Patients In Hospitals

  • According to a large-scale review, placing COVID-19 patients on oxygen in a facedown posture enhances their chances of survival. The research of non-intubated patients, published in the peer-reviewed journal Respiratory Care, adds to the growing body of evidence supporting a procedure that has become common in COVID units to improve oxygen intake and clinical outcomes.

“Prone posture is a non-invasive method of trying to enhance patients’ oxygen content while reducing the necessity for high-concentration oxygen diagnosis,” said Dr. Azizullah Beran. “While many hospitals advise patients to do so, the impact on non-intubated patients has not been well investigated.”

While people may tolerate 100% oxygen for short periods, if utilized for an extended amount of time, pure oxygen can cause lung damage. Prone posture, or lying face down on your stomach, keeps the lungs open and can help reduce the amount of oxygen required to keep the body functioning.

Beran, as well as a group of UToledo scientists, examined the clinical results of non-intubated COVID-19 patients who were placed in a prone position with those who stayed on their backs while receiving oxygen treatment in 14 different trials. They discovered that patients placed in a horizontal posture had a 17.9% mortality rate, opposed to 25.7 percent for those who were not.

Beran explained, “We know that prone positioning enhances oxygenation.” “This study, which is by far the biggest of its kind, reveals that it also leads to fewer fatalities among COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized.” The research also discovered that prone positioning while on oxygen treatment may lessen the requirement for considerably more intrusive mechanical breathing.

Prone Posture Enhances Survival In COVID Patients
Prone Posture Enhances Survival In COVID Patients

There was no statistically substantial distinction of patients who were finally intubated when it combined all 14 investigations. When researchers looked at just the five randomized controlled trials, they discovered a significant reduction in intubation for patients placed in a prone position while getting oxygen therapy.

Researchers observed that 30.2 percent of patients who received prone posture treatment required intubation, compared to 36.9% of those who did not get prone posture treatment. COVID- According to Dr. Ragheb Assaly, professor of medicine, head of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, and senior research author, 19 continues to spread and cause significant illness and mortality.

Assaly, the chief of division for pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine, said the report comes at a good time since many medical facilities are forming “pruning teams” to help nurses move patients into and out of prone positions.

“Some experts are talking about COVID-19 becoming widespread,” he added, “therefore, we need better answers to standardize COVID patient management.” “We hope that our research inspires further big, randomized control trials to provide a much more certain response to the topic.”

Beran, who is in his third year of residency at UToledo, agrees to expand the study. In the meanwhile, the findings presented in the research should help physicians treating COVID-19 patients understand the benefits of prone placement in non-intubated patients.

“We’re fortunate to have such a supportive faculty,” Beran remarked. “I’ve collaborated on several research projects with numerous academic members at UToledo. We are constantly encouraged and supported to pursue our academic pursuits. That, I believe, aids our development as residents and enables us to become better physicians.”

Studies demonstrate that prone posture improves survival in COVID patients in hospitals:

Extensive studies have indicated that putting COVID-19 patients on oxygen in the hospital face down enhances their chances of survival. Peer-reviewed publications have published studies on non-intubated patients. Take care of your lungs. It is a significant confirmation of the procedures popular in COVID units as a means of improvement. Oxygen intake and clinical outcome

A noninvasive strategy for making a patient feel better is to place them in a prone position. “We will enhance the level while lowering the demand for high oxygen therapy,” said Dr. Azura Belan, a general surgery trainee at the University Of Toledo School Of Medicine and Life Sciences and the paper’s lead author. Its effects on non-intubated patients, on the other hand, have not been well investigated.

For a short time, patients may tolerate 100% oxygen, but long-term usage of pure oxygen can harm the lungs. The prone position, also known as abdominal down, keeps the lungs open and reduces the oxygen required to sustain physical activity. Patients in the horizontal position had a 17.9% death rate, whereas those not had a 25.7 percent mortality rate.

Belan explained, “We know that prone positioning enhances oxygenation.” “This is by far the largest study of its sort, and it indicates that it also decreases the incidence of fatalities among COVID-19 kids who are hospitalized.” Studies have also shown that prone posture during oxygen treatment reduces the requirement for considerably more intrusive mechanical breathing.

The percentage of eventually intubated patients was not statistically significant in a combined analysis of all 14 investigations. However, researchers identified a substantial reduction in intubation in patients put in the supine position while getting oxygen treatment in just five randomized controlled studies.

Prone Posture Enhances Survival In COVID Patients
Prone Posture Enhances Survival In COVID Patients

Researchers discovered that 30.2 percent of patients who chose the prone position required sedation at some point, compared to 36.9% of those who didn’t embrace the horizontal position.

Many medical institutes are considering forming a “prone position team” to assist nursing staff in moving patients in and out, according to Assaly, the chairman of the Department of Pulmonary Emergency and Sleep Medicine. This paper, as I previously stated, is especially timely. This is a prone posture.

“Some experts are considering the possibility of COVID-19 becoming endemic,” he added, “therefore, we need a better response to standardize COVID patient management.” “We anticipate that this research will lead to larger randomized controlled trials and more certain answers to problems.”

According to Beran, a third-year intern at UToledo, this mission is also the foundation, while the research presented in the study directs the advantages employed by physicians treating COVID-19. The prone posture of an uninitiated patient was suggested as a possible solution.” We are constantly encouraged and supported in our academic pursuits. It’s because we’re improving as residents and doctors. “I believe it aids in becoming.”

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