How Successful Are Ventilators for COVID-19?
Doctors and scientists studying the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients on mechanical ventilators say the available data is tricky to assess. Some studies put the death rate for coronavirus patients put on ventilators as low as 25%. But many report much higher rates, ranging anywhere from about 50% to as high as 98% in one instance.
For example,
in a UK study of 98 COVID-19 patients who received "advanced respiratory support," which included invasive ventilation and tracheostomy, 66% died, according to the nation's Intensive Care National Audit and Research Center (ICNARC).
New York City hospitals have reported an even higher COVID-19 ventilator death rate. Roughly 80% or more of patients placed on ventilators there have died, according to AP News. The agency reports that typically only about 40% to 50% of patients on ventilators for non-COVID-19-related lung problems die. The percentage is high compared with the prognosis for some other medical procedures because, in general, doctors hold off on administering invasive ventilation until it is medically necessary, which means the illness is already quite serious before intubation.
Though data continue to emerge, some doctors feel enough already exists to justify new approaches to treating the most serious COVID-19 cases.
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