April 24, 2020
Doctors at the University of Chicago Medicine are seeing “truly remarkable” results using high-flow nasal cannulas rather than ventilators and intubation to treat some COVID-19 patients. The medical staff has avoided mechanical ventilation on 40% of patients, and extubated 50% of those who needed ventilators. Using a ventilator or intubation as a last resort—an approach UChicago Medicine teams call “prevent the vent”—helps get COVID-19 patients out of the hospital intensive care unit and prevents harmful side effects caused by ventilators, such as lung injuries.
Read more about this feat HERE.