Covid-19: How high-flow nasal oxygen is saving lives and sparing patients the trauma of intubation

Doctors at two of the hospitals most severely impacted by Covid-19 in the Western Cape say they have seen positive outcomes from using high-flow nasal oxygen instead of invasive mechanical ventilation. Kathryn Cleary asked doctors at these hospitals to explain how and why this kind of oxygen therapy works so well.

While the scientific understanding of the Covid-19 coronavirus is constantly improving, so is our understanding of practical methods to treat this life-threatening disease.

Doctors at two of the Western Cape’s hospitals most impacted by Covid-19 say they have seen positive outcomes from using high-flow nasal oxygen, a non-invasive oxygen therapy, instead of mechanical ventilation.