In a recent New York Times opinion piece, New York City’s Richard Levitan, MD, after working at Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital Center in early April at the height of the COVID-19 surge, stated that everyone needs a pulse oximeter in their pandemic supply kit.
Levitan says that use of home finger pulse oximeters by patients with COVID-19 could preempt the precipitous oxygen desaturation that leads to a crisis that needs intensive care.
In a NY Times’ Opinion piece, Dr. Levitan said, “If we could detect it earlier, we could initiate treatment earlier. We need to change messaging to the public, to physicians, to get earlier recognition of the disease.”
There is a way the medical community could identify more patients who have Covid pneumonia sooner and treat them more effectively by detecting silent hypoxia early through a common medical device called a pulse oximeter.
Pulse oximetry is no more complicated than using a thermometer. These small devices turn on with one button and are placed on a fingertip. In a few seconds, two numbers are displayed: oxygen saturation and pulse rate. Pulse oximeters are extremely reliable in detecting oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates.
Pulse oximeters can help save the lives by alerting individuals early to the need for treatment. When people notice their oxygen levels declining, they can go to the hospital earlier and have a higher chance to recover. Detection of hypoxia, early treatment and close monitoring apparently also worked for Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister.
Widespread pulse oximetry screening for Covid pneumonia — whether people check themselves on home devices or go to clinics or doctors’ offices — could provide an early warning system for the kinds of breathing problems associated with Covid pneumonia.
References:
- https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200424/covid-19-home-pulse-oximetry-could-be-game-changer-says-er-doc?src=RSS_PUBLIC#1
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-testing-pneumonia.html?referringSource=articleShare