Effect of prone position in non-intubated COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Introduction COVID-19 is an inflammatory disease with variable symptoms. Critical cases with ARDS on invasive mechanical ventilation benefit from prone positioning. The aim of the review is to determine the effect of prone position in spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19. Methods The PubMed database was used for article research using the following search string: (prone position) AND (COVID-19). After the evaluation of eligibility of the initial number of articles, 31 studies were used for the current review. Results The population of the patients, methods of oxygenation, inclusion and exclusion criteria for participating in each study, outcomes and results of the studies are examined and presented. Conclusions The majority of evidence showed beneficial effect of prone positioning in hypoxemia in non-intubated spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19, although the heterogeneity of study designs limits the safe conduct of conclusions, indicating the need for large scale randomized control studies to ensure the credibility of the results.

Keywords

• covid-19
• non-intubated
• awake prone position