Projects

Respiratory management of patients with corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is both complex and highly nuanced.[1] Although most patients with COVID-19 develop mild or no symptoms, a smaller proportion (up to 15%) experience progressive hypoxic respiratory failure requiring escalating levels of oxygen support.[2] Significant accumulated experience in caring for patients with SARS-CoV-2 pulmonary illness resulted in the recognition of major respiratory failure patterns, the benefits of early proning, and the importance of a step-wise escalation in levels of invasiveness across the entire spectrum from nasal cannula to extracorporeal support.[2-4] Given substantial heterogeneity among various algorithmic approaches to oxygen therapy and the need for both standardization and optimization of clinical management methodologies, the Joint ACAIM-WACEM COVID-19 Clinical Management Taskforce (CCMT) set out to establish and publish a unified approach to the patient who presents with SARS-CoV-2 lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). In addition, the CCMT hopes that a protocol-driven strategy will lead to conservation of precious healthcare resources, such as intensive care beds and ventilators, by eliminating unnecessary interventions and various other process inefficiencies.                                                                                                                                                                                                   Key Words: Coronavirus disease 2019, respiratory care optimization, clinical algorithm, SARS-CoV-2, evidence-based guideline, resource-sparing strategie