Equipment for airway warming in the treatment of accidental hypothermia

Possible effects of air temperature on COVID‐19 disease severity and transmission rates

“…Warm air delivery would need to occur for extended durations to suppress viral replication to a degree that would be beneficial, as decreases in virus infectivity are dependent on duration of exposure to elevated temperatures (Figure 3B). 3,9 Warm, humidified air is well‐tolerated over long durations 93,100 . It is important to note that air above body temperature will be cooled during inhalation, limiting the effectiveness of very warm air in reducing viral stability in lower areas of the respiratory tract.…”

“…For SARS‐CoV‐2 in solution in vitro, a 3‐log (99.9%) reduction in viral titer is predicted to occur in 12.5 h at the average temperature of upper airways (33°C), in 7.1 h at normal core body temperature (37°C), and in just 1.7 h at 45°C, an air temperature tolerable by healthy individuals for prolonged periods (95% confidence interval of 5.1–31.0, 2.8–17.7, and 0.6–4.6 h, respectively) (Figure 3). 3,93 Longer exposure to heat results in greater total reductions in viral decay. In addition to the possible effect on viral decay rates, warm air temperature and high relative humidity also facilitate a strong airway immune response, which could further contribute to the benefit of warm humidified air 21,33–38 …”

Warming the oxygen with the rescuer’s body as a possible method of heat loss prevention in a prehospital setting. Initial report

“…Information on various types of devices for heating and humidifying oxygen has been described by L. Lloyd. He pointed out, that the energy used to heat oxygen can be provided by a chemical reaction, the oxygen can be heated by burning gas or by-passing gas through a warm water bath heated by electricity [24]. Such a device must be small and light enough to be fitted into the basic rescue bag.…”

Possible Effects of Air Temperature on COVID-19 Disease Severity and Transmission Rates

“…3,9 Warm, humidified air is well-tolerated over long durations. 93,100 It is important to note that air above body temperature will be cooled during inhalation, limiting the effectiveness of very warm air in reducing viral stability in lower areas of the respiratory tract. Care must be taken when administering air to COVID-19 patients to avoid aerosolizing viral particles.…”

“…For SARS-CoV-2 in solution in vitro, a 3-log (99.9%) reduction in viral titer is predicted to occur in 12.5 hours at the average temperature of upper airways (33°C), in 7.1 hours at normal core body temperature (37°C), and in just 1.7 hours at 45°C, an air temperature tolerable by healthy individuals for prolonged periods (95% confidence interval of 5.1-31.0, 2.8-17.7, and 0.6-4.6 hours, respectively) (Figure 3). 3,93 Longer exposure to heat results in greater total reductions in viral decay. In addition to the possible effect on viral decay rates, warm air temperature and high relative humidity also facilitate a strong airway immune response, which could further contribute to the benefit of warm humidified air.…”