Respiratory Support in COVID-19-Related Respiratory Failure: Lessons Learnt

The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably changed the way intensivists manage acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure. Paradigms had evolved particularly in the way we support patients with respiratory failure, and the adjunctive therapies which can be used. Many questions have been answered, and many more generated, from the last few years. For example, is COVID-19 acute respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome similar to non-COVID-19? How can we personalize therapy in patients with COVID-19, and what are some new statistical tools that we can use to aid in this approach? Is intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation the only way to support patients with acute respiratory failure, or can we turn to other modalities of respiratory support? And what about patients with the most severe form of respiratory failure, how can we support them? In this chapter, we explore the lessons learnt, identifying gaps and advances in knowledge in terms of the pathophysiology of acute respiratory failure, its prognostic factors, oxygen supports, and other therapies. We also touch on how physicians treating patients can tap on international networks to create a "whole that is more than the sum of its parts", and impart clinical insights on the management of acute respiratory failure. Finally, we highlight the importance of a cautious skepticism in our approach to both clinical medicine and evidence-based medicine, highlighting how evidence in a pandemic can rapidly evolve both within an ICU, and longitudinally around the world.