Express News Service
BENGALURU: Critically-ill Covid patients who were on respiratory support had a high incidence of barotrauma, and over half of such patients succumbed to their illness, a new study has found.
The study Severe Covid 19 pneumonia and barotrauma: From the frying pan into the fire was posted as a preprint on medRxiv on February 16.
It retrospectively analysed data of 410 patients between June and November 2020 at Apollo Specialty Hospital in Jayanagar, Bengaluru.
Thirty-eight of 410 patients (9.3%) showed a high incidence of barotrauma during the study period, which refers to injuries in the body caused by increased air or water pressure. In this case, it refers to lung damage similar to tearing of the lung tissue, which can lead to a collection of air around the lungs. This air can also push its way out to below the skin.