What are ventilators and why are they important amid coronavirus pandemic?

What are ventilators and why are they important amid coronavirus pandemic?

A mechanical ventilator is a machine that helps patients who cannot properly breathe on their own by pumping air into their lungs through a tube inserted into their windpipes. The rate at which the ventilator pushes air and oxygen into lungs can be adjusted by the medical staff. Coronavirus affects the respiratory system, leaving some in need of breathing assistance.

The mechanical breathing machines known as ventilators are an essential tool in the health care system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In severe cases of COVID-19, patients develop pneumonia that can fill the lower lungs with fluid and cause difficulty breathing; the condition can lead to a critical deficiency of oxygen in a patient’s body.

A study of Chinese COVID-19 patients,published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that five per cent of those with the coronavirus landed in intensive care, and that about half of those patients required intubation and mechanical ventilation.

A study of Chinese COVID-19 patients,published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that five per cent of those with the coronavirus landed in intensive care, and that about half of those patients required intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Dr. Dave Neilipovitz, head of the department of critical care at The Ottawa Hospital, said the literature shows that in severe cases of COVID-19, patients develop Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) – a condition that doctors in Ottawa are familiar with treating since it can be caused by a host of other things. “These patients are certainly struggling to breathe and get enough oxygen in their blood,” he said. “A ventilator is there to provide life-saving oxygenation when the individual is no longer able to do so on their own.”