5/7/2023, 9:44:16 PM · by ConservativeMind · 70 replies
Medical Xpress / Northwestern University / Journal of Clinical Investigation ^ | May 4, 2023 | Catherine A. Gao et al
I read this morning about a study (I don’t recall where) that showed that a huge number of people actually died of bacterial pneumonia from the intubation (aka ventilation) process.
I have a friend who was a respiratory therapist and she said there was no way this should have been done, it’s an invasive and terrifying procedure, and those old folks who didn’t die immediately from the procedure died not long after from the resulting bacterial infection.
It sounds like torture - they won't let you see people and they won't let you sit up - just lie on your back in isolation.
Actually you read a study that said the cause of death was secondary PNA to SARS. The diagnosis of VAP occurs when a pneumonia develops after seven days on the vent. Patients usually have tracheostomy performed between vent day 7-10 to prevent VAP and finish a wean from ARDS.
In the case of SARS - Covid - 2 the ARDS was so profound that fatal hypoxemia developed rapidly and persisted. This requires higher PEEP settings to oxygenate the blood which if PEEP is too high becomes a problem to perform a trach. Mechanical Ventilation has very clear physiologies which require ETT placement and support. They are measure on ABGs and calculate the ratio of inspired oxygen relative to arterial oxygenation.
Your “friend” the respiratory therapist is either not an RRT or practicing well beyond his or her scope. First any decent RRT knows that when one intubates a patient one first anesthetizes the patient. Secondly intubation and ventilation are two very different things. Third good Intensivists understand how to manage a patient and the sedation levels to allow for the patient to. It be frightened and make progress is vent support is required.
Death from the procedure of intubating a patient is extraordinarily rare unless you are dying already. The article since you to mention also states cytokine storms was NOT relevant in the death of covid patients. This means that all the hoopla around ivermectin and HCQ is false and these meds would not be of help. It confirms the observation of myself and my colleagues that these drugs were useless. So I guess we were correct after all.
I hope this clears up the superficial understanding your “friend” possesses and helps you better understand what the study actually said.
"Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic"
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/bacterial-pneumonia-caused-most-deaths-1918-influenza-pandemic