ABSTRACT
While the last pandemic in the world has been in memory as Spanish Flu in 1918, the World Health Organization announced a pandemic caused by the corona virus family, Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which started in China in December 2019 and spread all over the world.
It was determined that the symptoms of the infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus is a clinic with fever, shortness of breath and especially acute respiratory symptoms called Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). It was understood in a short time that COVID-19 pneumonia may be asymptomatic in patients as well as cause pulmonary edema, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and/or multiple organ failure.
Studies have shown that the prevalence of ARDS is 17% in COVID-19 patients and sustaining oxygenation is the biggest problem. In the presence of respiratory failure and severe hypoxemia in COVID-19 pneumonia during follow-up and treatments, It was revealed that the prone position used in ARDS treatment can be used as an adjuvant treatment method to increase oxygenation. Prone position can be used worsening oxygenation (20% reduction in PaO2/FiO2 compared to supine position), if complications do not develop (such as pressure ulcers, brachial plexus injury, corneal/conjunctival damage, facial/periorbital venous catheter related problems), It can be performed alternately with the supine position for at least 4 hours until PaO2/FiO2 ≥150 mmHg, positive end-expiratory pressure ≤10 cmH2O, FiO2 ≤0.60.
In this article, we aimed to present the results of the prone position we used for the treatment of hypoxia in 2 cases that we admitted in our intensive care unit with the pre-diagnosis of COVID-19 at the age of 68 and 81.
Keywords: Coronavirus disease-2019, prone position, respiratory failure, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome