Hey guys! Dr Sharma DO here!
The deadly strain of virus that has been causing severe respiratory infections can cause low oxygen levels and damage to our oxygen exchange system, known as alveoli. The damage can be so severe that membrane damage results in protein leakage into our lungs - this causes a 'hyaline membrane' which makes gas diffusion even more difficult. This is called acute respiratory distress syndrome, and is officially calculated using the gradient of alveolar oxygen (predicted) versus how much oxygen is actually in the blood via an ABG (arterial blood gas). Essentially patients will require positive pressure ventilation or even mechanical ventilation to pressurize oxygen diffusion into their blood stream. This assistance has a limit, however, and at a certain point, oxygen levels just cannot be maintained to keep the patient alive, resulting in other adverse medical situations such as cardiac arrest/cardiac arrhythmia and hypoxemic brain damage.
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