No abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a rapidly expanding global pandemic. In March 2020, models forecasted imminent exhaustion of regional ventilator supply in New York (1). In response, we developed a novel ventilator sharing strategy to support two patients simultaneously with one ventilator. This report details our initial ventilator sharing experience among patients with COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.

Lung volumes, the incidence and severity of atelectasis, and alveolar gas exchange were comparable in patients given 30% and 80% perioperative oxygen. The authors conclude that administration of 80% oxygen in the perioperative period does not worsen lung function. Therefore, patients who may benefit from generous oxygen partial pressures should not be denied supplemental perioperative oxygen for fear of causing atelectasis.