New Taipei City on Friday launched a trial program to monitor and care for people at risk of unknowingly developing abnormally low blood oxygen levels, amid reports of people with COVID-19 dying from the condition.
The program, implemented at the direction of New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), has selected 60 people for a trial, during which participants provided with thermometers and oximeters would upload data on their condition to a platform for monitoring, the city government said.
Should the program prove successful, it would be expanded to include city residents confirmed to have COVID-19, it said.
The platform monitors participants’ temperatures and blood oxygen concentration, and contacts them twice a day to ensure they are hospitalized quickly if they should need it, Hou said.
New Taipei City Department of Health Director Chen Jun-chiu (陳潤秋) said that 11.8 percent of recorded COVID-19 deaths have been linked to silent hypoxemia.
Normal blood oxygen concentration should be at least 95 percent, she said, adding that the mortality rate for people with blood oxygen concentration of 93 to 94 percent within five days is 2.24 percent.
The mortality rate for people with blood oxygen concentration of 92 percent or less within five days is 14.33 percent, she added.
People should seek medical attention immediately after being diagnosed with lower than normal blood oxygen concentration levels, Chen said.
The department has only received 4,200 of 15,000 oximeters that the central government has committed to provide to the program, it said, adding that it is looking to purchase more oximeters.
Chung Shan Medical University Hospital doctor of general medicine Chen Hsin-mei (陳欣湄) said on Facebook on Tuesday that people who have difficulty breathing or who have a blood oxygen level of 94 percent or less after contracting COVID-19 might be able to relieve their symptoms by lying face down, but should prepare to call for medical assistance if their symptoms persist, as large group studies of the technique have focused on its use in hospitals.
Doctors know that patients on breathing machines tend to have improved chances of survival if they rest in a prone position, she said, adding that the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recommends the method for people suffering from COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress.
The recommendation does not include people who are pregnant, have recently experienced deep vein thrombosis, have significant heart problems, or a fractured spine or pelvis, she said.
In related news, Taiwan National University Hospital urologist Ku Fang-yu (顧芳瑜) said that cellphone apps do not accurately measure blood oxygen levels.
Ku was responding on Facebook on Wednesday to posts recommending the use of mobile phone apps that claim to monitor blood oxygen levels.
Blood oxygen monitors work by shining a visible red beam and a far-infrared beam through the finger, and then measure light absorption rates to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood, he said.
Although commercially available cameras have built-in red light filters to enhance photography, they prevent infrared light from reaching the camera, he said.
Additional reporting by Chou Hsiang-yun
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