As India battles the massive daily surge in COVID-19 cases, amid the shortage of medical oxygen and beds at hospitals the oxygen concentrators are in great demand.
The union ministry of health and family welfare on May 1 issued a press release with details on oxygen concentrators, their use and how they are to be handled.
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that attacks the human lungs and can cause the oxygen level to drop significantly. In such a scenario, the infected person would require medical oxygen for treatment, to enhance the oxygen levels to clinically acceptable levels.
What is the normal Oxygen level of a healthy individual?
A healthy individual with normal lungs will have an arterial oxygen saturation of 95– 100 percent. Oxygen level is measured by oxygen saturation, known as SpO2 that measures the amount of oxygen-carrying haemoglobin in the blood.
If the oxygen saturation is found 93 percent or lower in adult COVID-19 patients, the patient needs hospital admission. An oxygen saturation level of less than 90 percent is a clinical emergency, requiring admission to ICU.
In the event of delay in getting hospitalised, one must do whatever the best can be done in order to try and replenish the patient's oxygen level as per the clinical management protocol.
Oxygen concentrator – how does it work?
Oxygen concentrators are devices that take in ambient air and increase the oxygen concentration by filtering out the nitrogen. These concentrators function the same way such as oxygen tanks or cylinders with the use of a cannula, oxygen masks or nasal tubes.
The oxygen concentrators can work 24 x 7.
Who needs to use the oxygen Concentrator and when?
Oxygen concentrators can be used only in moderate cases of COVID-19 infections, when the patient experiences declining oxygen levels and the oxygen requirement is a maximum of 5 litres per minute, according to professor and head of department Anaesthesia, B. J. Medical College, Pune, Sanyogita Naik.
These devices are also very useful for patients experiencing post-COVID complications that necessitate oxygen therapy, added Professor Naik.
Can the oxygen concentrators be used on our own?
The answer is a strict no and using an oxygen concentrator without medical guidance can be very harmful, according to Dr Chaitanya H Balakrishnan, COVID coordinator, St John’s Medical College Hospital, Bangalore.
Prof Sanyogita too opines that both purchase and usage of concentrators should be done only in accordance with the medical guidance.
Oxygen Concentrators market in India
O2 concentrators cost upwards of Rs 30,000 and the country has seen a surge in the business of oxygen concentrators. Besides the multi-national companies, several Indian start-ups, funded under the CAWACH (Centre for Augmenting War with Covid 19 Health Crisis) programme of the Department of Science & Technology, have developed efficient and cost-effective Oxygen Concentrators.
PM CARES fund to procure O2 concentrators
To stem the spread and resulting deaths due to the second wave of COVID-19, One lakh oxygen concentrators are being procured through PM CARES fund.
