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Early prone positioning therapy for patients with mild COVID-19 disease
Xiaoyi Liu1, Hui Liu2, Qing Lan1
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Central Hospital of Dazhou, Dazhou, Sichuan, PR China.
Insights
Early prone positioning (PP) improves oxygenation and reduces hospitalization duration for mild COVID-19 patients. This intervention offers a clinically applicable approach to managing mild coronavirus disease 2019.
Area of Science:
- Critical Care Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonary Medicine
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, originating in Wuhan, China in December 2019, necessitated the exploration of effective treatment strategies.
- Prone positioning (PP) is a known intervention for improving oxygenation in respiratory distress.
- The efficacy of early PP in mild COVID-19 cases required further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the clinical significance of early prone positioning (PP) in patients with mild COVID-19.
- To evaluate the impact of early PP on oxygenation, duration of PP, and hospitalization length.
- To determine if early PP is a viable clinical intervention for mild coronavirus disease 2019.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective observational study was conducted.
- Mild COVID-19 patients were divided into an early PP group (within 24h of admission) and a control group.
- Clinical data and outcomes were recorded and compared between the groups.
Main Results:
- The early PP group demonstrated significantly improved oxygenation (P/F ratio) after one day of treatment compared to controls.
- Patients in the early PP group required less total time in the prone position.
- Hospitalization duration was significantly shorter for patients receiving early PP.
Conclusions:
- Early prone positioning is an effective intervention for improving hypoxia in mild COVID-19 patients.
- Early PP can reduce both the duration of prone positioning and overall hospitalization length.
- This strategy presents a potentially valuable and clinically applicable treatment for mild coronavirus disease 2019.
Objective:
In December 2019, Wuhan, China, experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Some patients admitted to our hospital were treated with early prone positioning (PP). Here, we analyzed its clinical significance.
Methods:
This was a retrospective observational study. We defined the early PP group as mild COVID-19 patients who were placed into a prone position within 24h of admission; others served as the control group. We recorded basic data and outcomes of early PP and compared the results to those of controls.
Results:
After 1 day of treatment, oxygenation was greater in the early PP group than in the control group (P/F: 421.6±39.74 vs. 382.1±38.84mmHg [1mmHg=0.133kPa], p<0.01). And early PP group spent less total time in prone position (11.1±4.17 vs. 16.9±5.20 days, p<0.01), and required shorter hospitalization duration (12.2±4.49 vs. 23.2±4.83 days, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
Early PP treatment can improve hypoxia and shorten the prone position time and hospitalization duration in mild COVID-19 patients. It is a potential clinically applicable intervention.
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