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Variability of oxygen requirements in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Research Authors
Samuel F Huth et al.
Research Date
Research Department
Research Journal
J Global Health
Research Vol
14
Research Website
10.7189/jogh.14.05012
Research Abstract

Background The global scarcity of medical oxygen has proven to be catastrophic during the surges in COVID-19 cases over the past two years, with the heaviest burden felt in low-and middle-income countries. Despite its criticality, data and analyses of oxygen consumption, even for typical clinical cases, are missing. Consequently, planning oxygen needs, particularly with variable surges in COVID-19 cases, has presented a substantial challenge to policymakers and hospital decision-makers. Methods We performed a sub-analysis of the COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium database assessing the oxygen consumption requirements of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units between February 2020 and October 2021. We calculated descriptive statistics for oxygen flow-rates, stratified by oxygen supplementation method, and developed a multi-state model for estimating the frequency, therapy duration