How Are We Preparing for a Possible Shortage of Life-Saving Ventilators?

do the same. Dr Jeanette Nesh, what Fox News medical contributor joins us for What to Know about a possible ventilator shortage? Thanks for joining us, Dr Nesh, what my pleasure? I wanted to talk about ventilators in this whole thing that we're going through with a coronavirus COVID nineteen. A lot of people, a lot of experts, are pointing to a possible ventilator shortage, and really that's the main supportive treatment for patients that get into this critical stage of

COVID nineteen. A lot of them need to be put on these ventilators when their lungs just aren't providing the amount of oxygen that they need. Dr Nesh, what tell us a little bit about this whole process of getting ventilators and this possible shortage that we could be seeing. We don't have ventilator shortage right now. This is just a matter of predicting the future, predicting our potential needs and preparing for the potential of having to have thousands

and thousands of more ventilators. We currently have thousands in our current stockstiles here in the United States, but it's estimated that we may be thousands short. But as it is right now, manufacturers have been working with our governments administration to help create and produce not only more ventilators, but also pp s were which are just as critical for helthcare providers. PPEs meaning gowns, mass gloves, those sorts

of things. For those that aren't familiar with what a ventilator is, sometimes an infection can get into your system and can cause shok and people can stop breathing on their own. So the ventilator is just an artificial breathing tool until your body is well enough been strong enough to breathe on its own, if you will. So that's the purpose of that. Someone comes in with respiratory distress

and oxygen isn't helping. Steroids aren't helping, and they're not able to breathe on their own, you know, they lose consciousness sometimes maps when we have to put them on a ventilator and that means where we put a tube into your body so that we can do artificial breathing for you. And the goal is it's just to be temporary until your body heals. Yeah, the administration has said

that they've ordered a lot more. Obviously we have a stockpile also, but they're encouraging states and cities and other hospitals to go straight to the manufacturers I guess to order them as well. These things can be very costly. One of the manufacturers is called Medtronics so Metronic I SEU ventilator can cost between twenty five thou to fifty

dollars and they're big, they're big items. But beyond this, also the people needed to operate these ventilators is important also, And as you mentioned, there's not necessarily a shortage now, but we're trying to get ahead of this so predicting the future, but there are lower numbers of people that can actually operate these things as well. We have what are called our keys respiratory technicians who are just phenomenal

and monitoring patients who are on ventilators. They work closely with i C pulmonologists and they are just critical in the field of pulmonology and I C use and yes, if you are short on healthcare providers, then it defeats

the purpose of having the equipment. So that's why it's so important to that we keep our healthcare providers that we do have healthy and safe, and also not only stock up on ventilators and other supplies, but also have surge staffing to help meet the potential surge capacity that we may see here in the next few weeks. Dr. I wanted to ask about your practice in general and patients that you've seen coming in obviously worried that they

might have coronavirus. You've done a bunch of testing as well. Tell us about that process and just patients that you've seen and most likely suspect that they have this as well. Right, it's not a surprise that we're going to see increase number of cases, especially as we have the expansion of testing capability. I have had patients come in with flu like symptoms, covid like symptoms, the symptoms overlap. A lot of them are are similar fever cops, shortness of breath,

a source throat, and running nose congestion. So what we do is initially we will check their vitals and do an influenza test first, which is a quick test that you swab the nose, and if that is positive, then we stop right there and we will send them home

on medications and follow up instructions. But if it's a negative test and they have fever, low oxygen levels, and that they don't look well and they need the criteria, then we will proceed to swab them for coronavirus, and while we wait for those results, we put them on fourteen day quarantine so that they are not infecting other people while we're waiting for those results, which can take several days up to a week as it is right now, but soon and I hope we'll be able to have

a more rapid testing results a specific medicine that you prescribe. Let's say they test negative for the flu and we suspect to have COVID nineteen. Is there any medication that you're prescribing at that point? As of right now, there is no FDA Improved medications to treat COVID nineteen coronavirus. There are some areas of the world where they're using, for example, anti virals like called REMDA severe callitris. Some

anti HIV medicine and some LA medicines have been tried. Also, some malaria medications have been used as a last resort. But as it is right now, the only thing I'm prescribing our supportive medicine. Like, for example, as someone says I just feel a little short of bread, I will give them a breathing nebulizer machine in the office, and I will prescribe to them and an inhaler like an

albuterole inhaler for example. And if they're coughing, I will also, you know, say hey, use the humidifier, drink lots of fluids, stay hydrated. You can use them over the counter cough medicines and all over the counter thail and al robit proform for fever. And sometimes I'll prescribe prescriptions drink cough medicine like Benzona, take capsules or something like that, or

some corpstips only if it's needed. If there for example, having trouble sleeping or if they're wheezing, then will add a little bit of a steroid to so it's more symptomatic care. But of course that's not all. We really have to make sure that we're giving them very strict precautions to stay home and rest so that they don't spread to other people. Even if it's not coronavirus, the

flues that's contagious, you can spread that as well. And then on top of that we give them very strict our precautions and tell them if your symptoms worse and if you cannot breathe, if you're having chest pain and your sort of breath, then will have them seek further medical care and give them emergency instructions. Dr Jeanette Nish what Fox News medical contributor and family and emergency medical doctor, thank you very much for joining us. It's my pleasure.

Thank you for having me. This has been your daily coronavirus update. Don't forget that. For today's big news stories, you can check me out on the Daily Dive podcast every Monday through Friday, So follow us on our heart radio or wherever you get your podcast