Covid-19: some patients may be offered home oxygen



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Home oxygen therapy would be possible for some Covid patients, according to an opinion from the High Authority for Health (HAS) published on Monday. The latter, however, poses a number of prerequisites for this support.

This proposal worries the collective of doctors “On the side of science”, which highlights the risks. And he hopes, in an online forum, that “you don’t intend to dress without saying it, disaster medicine measures.”

The High Authority reports that “in the face of the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic and the very strong demand from hospital services”, the Ministry of Health has seized the possibility of offering some patients home oxygen therapy.

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“Hospitalization remains recommended for patients at risk of developing severe Covid-19,” he notes. However, home care would be “possible for two types of patients,” he adds. This is the case of “patients who have been hospitalized and whose state of health allows them to consider returning home with the oxygen supply necessary for their care” and “exceptionally patients whose state of health allows initial assistance at home “.

The patient “must be independent, have a healthy home, with the permanent presence of a third person, be located less than 30 minutes from a referral health institution with an emergency facility or a local SMUR (specialized vehicle connected to Samu, ed) ”, details the HAS.

Fragile people excluded

Other criteria are related to the therapeutic goal: for a patient leaving hospitalization, continuation of weaning with oxygen with an oxygen requirement of less than 4 liters / minute to maintain oxygen saturation of the blood; for an outpatient, restore this blood saturation to more than 92% at rest.

Are automatically excluded from this home care, patients with chronic disease (diabetes, renal failure) not stabilized, morbid obesity, pregnant patients … Ditto for those who combine at least “two criteria” exclusion of minors (over 70 years, cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis, balanced diabetes, etc.). Age alone isn’t enough to exclude a patient from this device, he adds.

Careful monitoring by a multi-professional team (general practitioner, nurse, physiotherapist) in collaboration with a referral hospital team is essential. Patient safety should be constantly monitored with the help of a relative, caregiver or even a home visiting healthcare professional.

Remote surveillance allows, if available, careful monitoring of the patient and help for those around him. In case of worsening, the patient must be able to be hospitalized quickly by immediately contacting the Samu or the reference hospital unit.

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