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Mr. Luddite[_4_]

On 3/29/2020 3:10 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:02:21 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 3/29/2020 11:13 AM, wrote:
On Sun, 29 Mar 2020 08:04:49 -0400, wrote:

I saw a doctor being asked if a CPAP machine could be modified for
use as a ventilator. Answer was "No".

Also saw another doc who is currently working in a hospital in
NYC. He explained the protocols and steps taken when a person
is admitted with covid-19 and has difficulty breathing.

They are not put on a ventilator initially. They start with a
oxygen face mask. If the patient responds well, that's all
they do.

Often though, the patient will initially seem to do better
but then deteriorate. At that point they use another type
of oxygen delivery system that is under pressure.

If that fails, they go to another oxygen system that I can't
remember how it differs, but somehow it's a 'high delivery"
system.

If that fails the patient is then put on a ventilator.
The doc said the ventilator is used when all else has
failed and is used as a last resort.

I still haven't heard what the survival rate is when measures go that
far.

===

I read somewhere recently that the survival rate for ICU patients on
ventilators was about 50%, and virtually all of the 50% survivors had
some permanent lung damage. Unfortunately I don't have the original
cite for that.

The doc I heard said basically the same thing which was a surprise to
me. The ventilators that are being talked about so much are the
"last ditch" effort to try to save people who are severely affected
and the survival rate, as you say and as the doc said, is only
about 50 percent ... maybe even less.

We have the ability to keep dead people alive almost indefinitely on
machines but I am not sure we should. My Ex had statistics about
people who "coded" in her hospital and most really never got out
alive. She did have an interesting job tho, being one of the senior
people there who was not either a doctor/nurse or a priest/nun. She
was the tie breaker on a lot of things and saw pretty much everything.
It made interesting dinner conversation and made me want to never
spend a night in a hospital. So far, so good. The last night I was in
a hospital, my navel was still forming.

I remembered another thing the doc said about ventilators.

He said normally people are put on them for several days
until they showed signs of recovery.

The typical covid-19 patient is on it for several *weeks*
before they recover or die.

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