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UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

uchicagomedicine.org

11–20 of 123 posts

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#11
post #2

I'm an intensivist based in Sweden. From my perspective there is absolutely nothing new in this article. We have been using HFC for years if not decades.

Our* guidance has been HFNC only in negative pressure rooms because of the aersolization risk.

We've converted a huge number of beds to negative pressure in order to maximize use of HFNC. Anecdotally, I feel like it works, but would be great to see a trial.

*major nyc health system

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#12

One of the most interesting parts of this press release, following it on other boards, is the immediate "We already do that. Nothing new here." That kind of reply would immediately lead me to think it was just a useless release, but then I see people posting comments along the lines of "No, we don't do that. In fact, we have a policy against doing that because of the danger of aerosolization" For my hacker/systems wo…

Even better would be randomized experimental data that this was better than an alternative... 'It works' can mean lots of different things...

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#13
post #9

Sounds like a promising strategy to manage patients, assuming the hospital has the necessary negative pressure rooms, etc. Especially since ventilators don’t even seem to be very effective. We’ve been seeing stories last few days that the large majority (88%) of folks put on ventilators in NYC, end up dying.

That 88% number is pretty misleading. They only looked at: (number of patients who died) / (number of patients who died + number of patients discharged alive). And didn't consider the other patients on ventilators who are still alive, but still in the hospital (many likely no longer on ventilators).

Don't get me wrong, the fatality rate for intubated patients is going to be high. but probably more like 40-60%.

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#14
post #9

Sounds like a promising strategy to manage patients, assuming the hospital has the necessary negative pressure rooms, etc. Especially since ventilators don’t even seem to be very effective. We’ve been seeing stories last few days that the large majority (88%) of folks put on ventilators in NYC, end up dying.

Be careful with that number. It's 88% of the cases that had resolved after ~4.5-5 days, which was only 25% of the cases included in the study.

If there is some bias in the study population, the overall rate can change quite a lot (for example, a possibility is that the weakest patients succumb in that period, with stronger patients coming off the ventilators after a longer period...).

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#15
post #12

One of the most interesting parts of this press release, following it on other boards, is the immediate "We already do that. Nothing new here." That kind of reply would immediately lead me to think it was just a useless release, but then I see people posting comments along the lines of "No, we don't do that. In fact, we have a policy against doing that because of the danger of aerosolization" For my hacker/systems wo…

Even better would be randomized experimental data that this was better than an alternative... 'It works' can mean lots of different things...

It's an excellent point. Learning is not the same as science, and we need randomized trials to actually be sure of anything.

Unfortunately, in the middle of a pandemic, that's not going to happen with enough speed to prevent a lot of people dying.

The perfect can be the enemy of the good enough. We don't have to guess or learn about the mass of an electron; that's been well-established through great lab work. But not all decisions are like that. Many times the hardest decisions are those you make with incomplete and contradictory information ... and not making a decision is, in effect, making a decision. This is one of the things that's so interesting here. If it were simple yes/no, what's science and what's speculation, there wouldn't be much interesting learning or decision-making happening.

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#17
With treatment so simple, we have effectively removed the healthcare system as a bottleneck on the rest of society.

I think we can safely reopen fully now and treat any serious cases using our existing healthcare systems in combination with this kind of new knowledge.

The longer we 'suppress the curve', when we are already far below hospital system capacity, the more economic and social damage we cause unnecessarily.

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#18
post #11
post #2

I'm an intensivist based in Sweden. From my perspective there is absolutely nothing new in this article. We have been using HFC for years if not decades.

Our* guidance has been HFNC only in negative pressure rooms because of the aersolization risk. We've converted a huge number of beds to negative pressure in order to maximize use of HFNC. Anecdotally, I feel like it works, but would be great to see a trial. *major nyc health system

Is management of an HFNC patient simple enough that it could be done outside a hospital? I’m imagining a converted stadium or similar area in which patients use HFNC and everyone who isn’t a patient puts on serious PPE before entering and takes it off only when they’re quite far away.

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#19

With treatment so simple, we have effectively removed the healthcare system as a bottleneck on the rest of society. I think we can safely reopen fully now and treat any serious cases using our existing healthcare systems in combination with this kind of new knowledge. The longer we 'suppress the curve', when we are already far below hospital system capacity, the more economic and social damage we cause unnecessarily.

Stronger pandemic response yields better economic recovery. http://news.mit.edu/2020/pandemic-health-response-economic-r...

Re: UChicago doctors see ‘remarkable’ success using ventilator alternatives

#20
post #19

With treatment so simple, we have effectively removed the healthcare system as a bottleneck on the rest of society. I think we can safely reopen fully now and treat any serious cases using our existing healthcare systems in combination with this kind of new knowledge. The longer we 'suppress the curve', when we are already far below hospital system capacity, the more economic and social damage we cause unnecessarily.

Stronger pandemic response yields better economic recovery. http://news.mit.edu/2020/pandemic-health-response-economic-r...

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