Last, the researchers used their computer model to find out if COVID-19 interferes with the normal ratio of air-to-blood flow that the lungs need to function normally. This type of mismatched air-to-blood flow ratio is something that happens in many respiratory illnesses, such as with asthma patients, Suki says, and it can be a possible contributor to the severe, silent hypoxia that has been observed in COVID-19 patients.
The models suggest that for this to be a cause of silent hypoxia, the mismatch must be happening in parts of the lung that don’t appear injured or abnormal on lung scans. Altogether, the findings suggest that a combination of all three factors are likely to be responsible for the severe cases of low oxygen in some COVID-19 patients.
By having a better understanding of these underlying mechanisms, and how the combinations could vary from patient to patient, clinicians can make more informed choices about treating patients using measures like ventilation and supplemental oxygen. Researchers are currently studying a number of interventions, including a low-tech intervention called prone potisitoning that flips patients over onto their stomachs, allowing for the back part of the lungs to pull in more oxygen and evening out the mismatched air-to-blood ratio.
“Different people respond to this virus so differently,” Suki says. For clinicians, he says it’s critical to understand all the possible reasons why a patient’s blood oxygen might be low, so that they can decide on the proper form of treatment, including medications that could help constrict blood vessels, bust blood clots, or correct a mismatched air-to-blood flow ratio.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute supported the work.
Source: Boston University
Original Study DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18672-6
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18672-6
https://www.futurity.org/silent-hypoxia-covid-19-lungs-oxygen-levels-2453532-2/
Peer review and corrections by – Prof. Guy Van Elsacker DrSc.
FURTHER RESEARCH AND SOLUTIONS
SEE: How to bring your oxygen blood saturation levels uo again by boosting NITRIC
OXIDE (NO) via two amino acids.