Importance Of Oxygen In Covid
If I were to come down with severe Covid-19 and choose to stay at home rather than go into hospital, would I benefit from receiving oxygen? Among the many questions surrounding palliative care at home, that’s the one that persistently nags at me. There is good evidence that high-flow oxygen in hospital would improve my chances of survival but what about home-delivered oxygen? Does low-flow oxygen through a mask or nasal tubes, or a positive pressure ventilation machine (such as that which relieves breathing problems during sleep), make a difference to survival? I’ve not come across any case studies or random control trials of Covid care at home from any of the countries who were ahead of us as the pandemic developed. In countries with limited access to hospital care this will become an important issue. And if I were to stay at home, would home-delivered oxygen help to make me more comfortable, even if it would not affect my survival chances? Which symptoms am I hoping it could control?...
