PM ‘very likely to need a ventilator’ as he fights bug in intensive care
BORIS Johnson will be struggling for every painful breath and is likely to need a ventilator, according to experts.
The PM is being monitored at St Thomas’ Hospital in London to check he is getting enough oxygen in his blood.
His official spokesman said yesterday that he has so far received “standard oxygen treatment” via a face mask.
But Derek Hill, professor of medical imaging at University College London, said he is “very likely” to need a ventilator, adding: “There is no doubt this turn of events means Boris Johnson is extremely sick.”
Dr Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “In intensive care, you will be given usually very high doses of oxygen.
“It will be very uncomfortable to breath and that is often quite distressing.
“You have a very tight-fitting face mask which is quite uncomfortable but the patients who need it are generally so poorly they feel better with it.
“People have to be aware it’s not a cure-all. It’s there to support you while your body tries to recover.”
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The PM could also be given continuous positive airway pressure, which bridges the gap between an oxygen mask and full ventilation. This uses pressure to send a blend of air and oxygen into the mouth at a steady rate, boosting the amount of oxygen getting to the lungs.
Using a ventilator would mean him being heavily sedated while a tube is guided through his mouth and into his windpipe. A ventilator either does all the breathing or assists the patient’s own.
Covid-19 attacks the lungs and can cause viral pneumonia. A recent report found that of 690 patients admitted to intensive care, only half survived.
Two-thirds needed ventilation within 24 hours of being moved on to ICU.
Prof Mike Grocott, Vice President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said: “It’s important to understand that being in an intensive care unit isn’t all about being on a ventilator. Intensive care is where life support takes place.”
Coronavirus patients can have a powerful immune response to the virus, which can cause severe inflammation and damage to the lungs. In otherwise healthy patients it is this response – which doctors do not fully understand – that can be most dangerous.