MUMBAI: A leading public hospital has proposed a simple method to predict which Covid-19 patients are likely to require oxygen support or higher care during hospitalisation.
In a research paper published in the latest edition of JAPI, doctors from BMC-run KEM Hospital’s pulmonary medicine department said the assessment only requires the patient’s oxygen saturation readings to be taken once while lying down and immediately another reading while sitting up on the bed.
If the readings differ quite a bit, it is possible the patient has Covid-induced platypnea-orothodeoxia syndrome (POS) — a condition in which breathlessness is alleviated when lying down and worsens while sitting or standing up.
“Even a fall in oxygen saturation in sitting position as compared to supine position can predict the need for oxygen therapy during treatment,” said the study.
The doctors, led by head of department Dr Amita Athawale, said POS could just be an “uncommonly common bedside sign”.
When contacted, Dr Athawale said, “It is a simple bedside observation while one checks oxygen saturation, normally it should be equal in sitting and lying down position.
But in Covid 19, where people don’t realise they are hypoxic, then different readings in sitting or standing position suggest that s/he be checked early for hypoxia.” The study of around 50 patients done during the first wave of the pandemic found 15 patients diagnosed with POS required oxygen supplementation at some point of their stay in hospital.
KEM Hospital dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh said the study predicts a low-cost way to ascertain which patient will need oxygen.
“It helps triage.
A patient who while supine has an oxygen saturation of 95 will not be ignored if his/her readings while sitting up are also taken,” said Dr Deshmukh.
He said doctors could advise such patients to lay in a prone position to help them breathe better..