The COVID-19 patients are silently dying due to extremely low blood oxygen levels. The Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday said that many COVID-19 patients are dying due to hypoxia, without showing signs of difficulty in breathing.
“The concern with this odd presentation is that patients are coming to hospitals in critical condition when their chances of survival are less,” said DAK President Dr. Nisar ul Hassan in a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
“We see patients with chest x-rays showing diffuse pneumonia and very low oxygen levels, but they appear normal and not in any kind of distress,” he said.
Pneumonia is a lung infection that occurs when air sacs are filled with pus or fluid and patients with it have pain and discomfort.
“But COVID patients with pneumonia don’t feel the same shortness of breath despite a drop in oxygen levels,” Dr. Nisar said. “And by the time they feel trouble breathing and reach out for help they are already dangerously sick and they need to be put on a ventilator and most of them die.”
“Silent hypoxia may explain why some young Covid-19 patients with no underlying health condition die suddenly without experiencing any sensation of breathing problems.”
The oxygen level can be monitored easily at home by a device called Pulse Oximeter. Using an Oximeter can alert a patient if his/ her oxygen levels drop.
“With most COVID patients in Kashmir now home quarantined under new guidelines, in absence of pulse oximeters it would be difficult for them to know whether or not they need oxygen support,” said Dr. Nisar.