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. 2022 Jan 20;17(1):e0249984.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249984. eCollection 2022.

Oxygen provision to severely ill COVID-19 patients at the peak of the 2020 pandemic in a Swedish district hospital

Anna Hvarfner  1   2 , Ahmed Al-Djaber  3   4 , Hampus Ekström  3   4 , Malin Enarsson  3   5 , Markus Castegren  3   6 , Tim Baker  2   7 , Carl Otto Schell  2   3
Affiliations

Oxygen provision to severely ill COVID-19 patients at the peak of the 2020 pandemic in a Swedish district hospital

Anna Hvarfner et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Oxygen is a low-cost and life-saving therapy for patients with COVID-19. Yet, it is a limited resource in many hospitals in low income countries and in the 2020 pandemic even hospitals in richer countries reported oxygen shortages. An accurate understanding of oxygen requirements is needed for capacity planning. The World Health Organization estimates the average flow-rate of oxygen to severe COVID-19-patients to be 10 l/min. However, there is a lack of empirical data about the oxygen provision to patients. This study aimed to estimate the oxygen provision to COVID-19 patients with severe disease in a Swedish district hospital. A retrospective, medical records-based cohort study was conducted in March to May 2020 in a Swedish district hospital. All adult patients with severe COVID-19 -those who received oxygen in the ward and had no ICU-admission during their hospital stay-were included. Data were collected on the oxygen flow-rates provided to the patients throughout their hospital stay, and summary measures of oxygen provision calculated. One-hundred and twenty-six patients were included, median age was 70 years and 43% were female. On admission, 27% had a peripheral oxygen saturation of ≤91% and 54% had a respiratory rate of ≥25/min. The mean oxygen flow-rate to patients while receiving oxygen therapy was 3.0 l/min (SD 2.9) and the mean total volume of oxygen provided per patient admission was 16,000 l (SD 23,000). In conclusion, the provision of oxygen to severely ill COVID-19-patients was lower than previously estimated. Further research is required before global estimates are adjusted.

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Conflict of interest statement

I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Dr. Baker reports a grant and personal fees from Wellcome Trust, and personal fees from UNICEF and the World Bank, all outside the submitted work. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Highest oxygen flow-rate.
The figure shows the highest oxygen flow-rate provided to patients with severe COVID-19 during their care in the medical wards.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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