COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia should be considered for shifting to ICU: Protocol

According to the protocol, a symptomatic COVID-19 patient with severe pneumonia with a respiratory rate of 30 breath per minute and Spo2 level of less than 90 percent should be considered for shifting to an ICU.

PTI

June 07, 2020 / 08:54 AM IST

Symptomatic COVID-19 patients who have "severe pneumonia" with a respiratory rate of 30 breath per minute should be considered for shifting to ICU, according to a clinical management protocol for adult patients suffering from the disease.

A COVID-19 patient with sever pneumonia also has an oxygen saturation level (Spo2) of less than 90 percent, on room air, it said.

An office memorandum, dated June 5, has been issued regarding “Clinical management protocol for adult patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection” using best practices, ICMR revised national clinical management guidelines and available evidence for patient care, prepared by the Department of Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the Delhi heath department said.

LNJP Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government, is attached to MAMC.

According to the protocol, a symptomatic COVID-19 patient with severe pneumonia with a respiratory rate of 30 breath per minute and Spo2 level of less than 90 percent should be considered for shifting to an ICU.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show