A large multicenter, randomized clinical trial revealed no difference in the risk of endotracheal intubation requirement at 30 days between awake prone positioning and standard positioning for patients with COVID-19 who suffered from acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, according to research published in JAMA by researchers at UTHealth Houston.
Given the concern of limited resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, awake prone positioning, in which a non-intubated patient lies face down, was adopted as an intervention for patients with respiratory failure. When a patient is lying face down, the diseased portion, which is usually the posterior part of the lung, is no longer compressed due to gravity, which was thought to improve the overall oxygenation within the lungs.
Written by: Halle Jones, UTHealth Houston Media Relations | June 28, 2022