Some doctors think ventilators can do more harm than good for coronavirus patients

The race to supply hospitals with more ventilators has been a defining characteristic of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but not every doctor believes the devices are the best way to treat patients, Stat News reports.

Normally, the decision to put patients on ventilators who are suffering from respiratory problems is driven by how low blood oxygen levels are. But some doctors are wondering if they should rely so heavily on those figures after noticing, per Stat, that many patients who have very low oxygen levels, which could often be considered near-fatal, aren't gasping air or showing other signs lung impairment.

Some patients are reportedly maintaining low carbon dioxide levels, which means their lungs are still performing the critical task of removing it despite struggling to absorb oxygen. This, doctors say, is more reminiscent of altitude sickness than pneumonia, and could be reason wait longer before deciding to move to a ventilator. Some small studies have backed the theory up.

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If that's the case, some physicians believe that non-invasive breathing aids are superior to ventilators even in more severe cases (though some provide a greater risk of transmission to health care workers). They also come with fewer risks; many older patients who survive sedation and forceful intubation reportedly can suffer permanent cognitive and respiratory damage.

Dr. Scott Weingart, a critical care physician in New York, said he thinks patients do "much, much worse" on ventilators than non-invasive devices. "I would do everything in my power to avoid intubating patients," he told Stat. Of course, it's crucial to note that the novelty of COVID-19 has health care professionals learning how to treat the disease on the fly, and much remains unclear. Read more at Stat News.