Evaluating the Respiratory Support Pattern and Relationship with Initial Oxygen Saturation of the COVID Isolation Unit Patients in Sylhet

COVID-19 is the devastating pandemic of the century predominantly fatal due to its respiratory failure nature. Severe and critical patients need oxygen supplementation in different forms. This cross-sectional study was conducted in four tertiary hospitals of Sylhet, Bangladesh from November 2020 to March 2021. All the patients admitted in the COVID-19 isolation units and fulfill the selection criterion were enrolled in this study. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate different types of respiratory supports and its relationship with initial oxygen saturation (SpO₂). Total 481 patients were enrolled. There was a male predominance (65.00%) in the participants. Highest number of participants was from 61-70 years age group. Number of ventilated patients were significantly high (p<0.001) in the COVID-19 patient group. The initial SpO₂ and hospital staying period of COVID-19 positive and negative group did not show any significant difference but these two parameters showed significant difference among died and survived group (p<0.001). Nearly one fourth patients (24.94%) of total patients were treated in ICU with high flow nasal cannula (HFNC), non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and mechanical ventilation. Among the ICU admitted patients nearly one-fourth (24.16%) patients were treated with mechanical ventilation. Mortality rate was 62.00% for ventilated patients, 70.60% for NIV patients and 15.80% for the HFNC patients.