WC Health Dept has high hopes for nasal oxygen treatment of Covid-19 patients

Cape Town – The Western Cape Health Department has high hopes for the use of high-flow nasal oxygen for some Covid-19 patients admitted to hospitals.

Groote Schuur and Tygerberg Hospital have started using high-flow nasal oxygen treatment on Covid-19 patients as an alternative to putting them on a ventilator early on.

Head of health in the Western Cape Dr. Keith Cloete said that pressure had been building slowly at acute hospitals but they are not quite at full capacity yet.

The department also has high hopes for the use of high-flow nasal oxygen as an alternative to early ventilation.

“The ministerial committee advisory in South Africa has considered the results and has made a recommendation that we should use, on the basis of the study, dexamethasone for the treatment of people on ventilators and in the treatment of people on oxygen because of the good results,” Cloete said.

He added that there was a team of clinicians in the Western Cape that was currently developing specific guidelines based on the ministerial committee advisory for the introduction of the treatment in the province.

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