Silent Hypoxia: Outcome in COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus 2019 disease which has originated from the virus named severe acute respiratory syndrome also known as SARS-CoV-2. This disease was first come to knowledge from Wuhan, a city in China during late December. And has turned out to be a universal pandemic in the month of March 2020 as said by the organisation WHO. It is noted that the population who were affected by this virus are 2.6 million including 210 countries till 22nd April 2020 and the count still continues. COVID-19 or corona virus disease has caused a massive death number across the globe. It has mainly affected the respiratory system. Whereas it has also caused various complication to other organs as thromboembolic problems, myocardial ischemia. The exact mechanism behind this still unknown. It presents with lack of dyspnea and extremely low oxygen saturation level, which makes them exceptionally at higher risk. It could happen that coronavirus has a distinctive action on receptors involved in chemo sensitivity to oxygen, but well-established pathophysiological mechanisms can account for most, if not all, cases of silent hypoxemia. These mechanisms consist the way dyspnea and the respiratory centres reacts to low levels of oxygen, the way the Prevailing Carbon Dioxide tension (PaCO2) alters the brain's response to hypoxia, effects of disease and age on control of breathing, inaccuracy of pulse oximetry at low oxygen saturations, and temperature induced shifts in the oxygen dissociation curve. Oxygen saturation reading and lack of dyspnea are some factors which are alarming to physicians along with its outcome on the respiratory centres.