ABSTRACT
Background: Prone positioning is an emerging tool in the care provided to patients infected with COVID-19 with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) at Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP). Objective(s): This study aimed to characterize the clinical profile of COVID-19 confirmed cases undergoing protocol directed assisted prone positioning. Method(s): This retrospective single-arm cohort study involved 87 eligible patients seen from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021 by reviewing their medical records. Result(s): Patients were predominantly middle-aged (49.4%) males (69.0%) with normal BMI (56.3%). Hypertension (59.8%) was the most prevalent comorbidity. Patients were admitted because of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure that required respiratory support. Biochemical markers of inflammation and disease severity, such as LDH, D-dimers and ferritin were consistently high in our study population. On average, the duration of symptoms before intubation was 7.7 days (SD=3.7) while the number of days of illness prior to prone positioning was 10.1 (SD=4.9). In terms of clinical outcomes, 94.3% of the patients had no accidental extubation. However, the all-cause mortality accounted for 29.9%. The mean number of days intubated was 14.1 days (SD=9.3) while the average length of hospital stay was 18.1 days (SD=11.4). Conclusion(s): This study revealed a broad picture and proportion of COVID-19 with ARDS undergoing protocol directed assisted prone positioning. Prone position is safe and impacts the clinical outcome of patients.