scholarly journals Chest Physiotherapy in Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit With COVID-19: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-148
Author(s):  
Lajwanti Lalwani ◽  
Gyanshankar Mishra ◽  
Abhay Gaidhane ◽  
Nazli Quazi ◽  
Amar Taksande

COVID-19, also commonly known as coronavirus, is presently declared a pandemic disease by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This disease is transmitted by close contact with infected patients who are either asymptomatic or symptomatic. About 5% of COVID-19 patients are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and present with either pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Chest physiotherapy may be provided to some patients admitted in ICU who may be broadly classified into the following two groups: 1. Patients suspected or infected with COVID-19 with no underlying lung disease (Other than COVID-19) & 2. Patients suspected or infected with COVID-19 with underlying lung disease (Other than COVID-19). Generally, asymptomatic patients do not require chest physiotherapy, but symptomatic patients do. This literature review discusses the various chest physiotherapy techniques related to body positioning, breathing, airway clearance, and mobilization that can be provided to COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. More importantly, precautions to be taken by the physiotherapist involved in the care of COVID-19 patients in the ICU have also been reviewed.

2021 ◽  
pp. 111-116
Author(s):  
Murat Doğan ◽  
Binnaz Çelik

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) rapidly spread all around the world and was declared a worldwide pandemic by World Health Organization in March 2020. We aimed to investigate the clinical, demographic and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 in children admitted to the pediatric emergency triage. Epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological data of children were collected retrospectively and analyzed to compare by symptoms. A total of 213 pediatric cases with COVID-19 were included. Most of the patients were asymptomatic (63.8%). The main clinical features were mild symptoms including fever (7.5%), cough (6.5%), myalgia (6.3%) or no (63.8%). Of the patients who had CT scan, 25% had specific findings of COVID-19. Ground-like opacities were common radiological findings (25%). Symptomatic patients had higher lymphopenia rate (p=0.03), higher CRP and procalcitonin (PCT) values (p=0.04, p=0.04), lower age (p<0.001) and lower neutrophil count (p=0.01). The rate of neutropenia and leukopenia were higher in asymptomatic patients (p=0.15, p=0.05, respectively). The most common cause of transmission in children is family contact. Home isolation was recommended for 89.6% of the patients, 10.3% were hospitalized, 2.3% needed an intensive care unit (ICU). Only one death was reported. We found found that children with COVID-19 are generally mild severe or asymptomatic clinic. Young children were relatively more symptomatic than older children, and those with underlying diseases often needed intensive care unit. The most important laboratory findings difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients are lymphopenia, increased CRP and PCT values (p=0.04 for all three parameter).


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S257-S258
Author(s):  
Raul Davaro ◽  
alwyn rapose

Abstract Background The ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections has led to 105690 cases and 7647 deaths in Massachusetts as of June 16. Methods The study was conducted at Saint Vincent Hospital, an academic health medical center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The institutional review board approved this case series as minimal-risk research using data collected for routine clinical practice and waived the requirement for informed consent. All consecutive patients who were sufficiently medically ill to require hospital admission with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection by positive result on polymerase chain reaction testing of a nasopharyngeal sample were included. Results A total of 109 consecutive patients with COVID 19 were admitted between March 15 and May 31. Sixty one percent were men, the mean age of the cohort was 67. Forty one patients (37%) were transferred from nursing homes. Twenty seven patients died (24%) and the majority of the dead patients were men (62%). Fifty one patients (46%) required admission to the medical intensive care unit and 34 necessitated mechanical ventilation, twenty two patients on mechanical ventilation died (63%). The most common co-morbidities were essential hypertension (65%), obesity (60%), diabetes (33%), chronic kidney disease (22%), morbid obesity (11%), congestive heart failure (16%) and COPD (14%). Five patients required hemodialysis. Fifty five patients received hydroxychloroquine, 24 received tocilizumab, 20 received convalescent plasma and 16 received remdesivir. COVID 19 appeared in China in late 2019 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Our study showed a high mortality in patients requiring mechanical ventilation (43%) as opposed to those who did not (5.7%). Hypertension, diabetes and obesity were highly prevalent in this aging population. Our cohort was too small to explore the impact of treatment with remdesivir, tocilizumab or convalescent plasma. Conclusion In this cohort obesity, diabetes and essential hypertension are risk factors associated with high mortality. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit who need mechanical ventilation have a mortality approaching 50 %. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001876
Author(s):  
Thibault Martinez ◽  
K Simon ◽  
L Lely ◽  
C Nguyen Dac ◽  
M Lefevre ◽  
...  

After the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic in France, MEROPE system was created to transform the military tactical ATLAS A400M aircraft into a flying intensive care unit. Collective aeromedical evacuations (aero-MEDEVAC) of patients suffering from SARS-CoV-2-related acute respiratory distress syndrome was performed from June to December 2020. A total of 22 patients were transported during seven missions. All aero-MEDEVAC was performed in safe conditions for patients and crew. No life-threatening conditions occurred during flight. Biohazard controls were applied according to French guidelines and prevented crew contamination. Thanks to rigorous selection criteria and continuous in-flight medical care, the safe transportation of these patients was possible. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of collective aero-MEDEVAC of these kinds of patients using a tactical military aircraft. We here describe the patient’s characteristics and the flight’s challenges.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 94-102
Author(s):  
O.V. Zavyalov ◽  
◽  
V.V. Marenkov ◽  
A.A. Dementyev ◽  
I.N. Pasechnik ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of non-invasive respiratory therapy using the method of dual positive airway pressure (DuoPAP) via nasal prongs performed in the intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit in premature newborns with extremely low body weight and respiratory distress syndrome in the early neonatal period. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 55 medical records of premature newborns treated in the intensive care unit of the Perinatal Center at S.S. Yudin City Clinical Hospital during the first 7 days of their life. We included patients treated between January 2018 and December 2019. All newborns had extremely low body weight (850 ± 149 g); mean gestational age was 28 ± 4 weeks; Apgar score at the first minute of life varied between 3 and 6; Silverman Anderson score (severity of respiratory disorders) was between 3 and 5 s. Standard examination was performed in accordance with current protocols developed by Russian and foreign specialists in neonatal medicine. A specially developed clinical protocol of the study was approved by the local ethics committee. Study participants were divided into 3 groups according to their type of spontaneous respiratory efforts, target level of preductal saturation, and Silverman Anderson score. Patients in Group I received synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV); patients in Group II received ventilation using DuoPAP via nasal prongs (if it was ineffective, we considered SIMV via tube); patients in group III received ventilation using DuoPAP only. In this study, we have identified indications and contraindications for initial and prolonged respiratory therapy with DuoPAP and developed main practical recommendations for effective and safe application of DuoPAP. The efficacy and safety of non-invasive respiratory therapy with DuoPAP via nasal prongs in extremely premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome in the early neonatal period is primarily determined by the newborn’s readiness for active spontaneous and productive respiratory movements, but not only by the compensated parameters of the acid-base state and gas composition of the capillary blood. The assessment of feasibility and limitations of non-invasive respiratory therapy with DuoPAP is an important step towards developing a clinical protocol for respiratory therapy in the early neonatal period in a neonatal intensive care unit; it will help to reduce the use of invasive lung ventilation. Key words: premature newborns, non-invasive respiratory therapy, respiratory distress syndrome, extremely low body weight


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