Is oxygen an effective treatment option to alleviate the symptoms of breathlessness for patients dying with COVID-19 and what are the potential harms?, CEBM

There is no existing research evidence involving patients with COVID-19 to directly inform the use of oxygen therapy in the management of breathlessness for dying patients. For patients with COVID-19, there is no evidence of benefit of oxygen therapy in the absence of hypoxemia. There may be a role for its use to wean patients with COVID-19 from ventilator support.If oxygen therapy is used, existing guidelines contain recommendations for the management of oronasal face masks, the potential adverse effects of oxygen therapy in the palliative care setting (e.g. impaired communication between patient and family) and the need to balance patient factors with cost effectiveness, resources and safety.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news