Prone position therapy gives encouraging results in SMIMER

Surat: Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC)SMIMER Hospital has adopted ‘prone position’ therapy on a mass scale for treating Covid-19 patients’ treatment and doctors say they are getting good results.

Prone is a body position in which patients are asked to lay flat on their stomach.

“We have been using a prone position mechanism on a mass scale for the last one month and the results in terms of health improvement are encouraging. Covid-19 is one kind of pneumonia and affects the respiratory system which necessitates increased oxygen demand in patients. This position improves ventilation in patients and helps them recover fast,” said Dr. Naimesh Shah, assistant professor (medicine) at SMIMER

Dr Shah said that this is not a new discovery, but an established global practice in patients who need oxygen support.

“In our Covid-19 hospital, 100 patients are simultaneously given this prone position therapy. Our clinical team uses a microphone in Covid-19 wards to give directions and we monitor it very closely. Patients are asked to do it four to six times a day with time ranging from 30 minutes to two hours,” he added.

The mass prone position therapy decreases oxygen demand, reduces respiratory support and decreases hospital stay for patients. “In a situation of scarce resources of oxygen and respiratory support systems like ventilators, prone position therapy is helping us a lot as it does not cost anything,” he added.