Madzimbamuto Farai D
Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2020 Jul 27;12(1):e1-e3. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2517.
The treatment of severely ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has brought the worldwide shortage of oxygen and ventilator-related resources to public attention. Ventilators are considered as the vital equipment needed to manage these patients, who account for 3% - 5% of patients with Covid-19. Most patients need oxygen and supportive therapy. In Africa, the shortage of oxygen is even more severe and needs equipment that is simpler to use than a ventilator. Different models of generating oxygen locally at hospitals, including at provincial and district levels, are required. In some countries, hospitals have established small oxygen production plants to supply themselves and neighbouring hospitals. Oxygen concentrators have also been explored but require dependable power supply and are influenced by local factors such as ambient temperature and humidity. By attaching a reservoir tank, the effect of short power outages or high demands can be smoothed over. The local and regional energy unleashed in the citizens to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic should now be directed towards developing appropriate infrastructure for oxygen and critical care. This infrastructure is education and technology intensive, requiring investment in these areas.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）重症患者的治疗使全球氧气和呼吸机相关资源短缺问题受到公众关注。呼吸机被视为治疗这些患者所需的关键设备，这些患者占COVID-19患者的3%至5%。大多数患者需要氧气和支持性治疗。在非洲，氧气短缺更为严重，需要比呼吸机更易于使用的设备。需要在省和地区各级医院建立不同的本地制氧模式。在一些国家，医院已建立小型制氧厂以自给自足并供应周边医院。也对氧气浓缩器进行了探索，但需要可靠的电源，并且会受到环境温度和湿度等当地因素的影响。通过连接储气罐，可以缓解短暂停电或高需求的影响。现在应引导公民为应对COVID-19大流行而释放出的地方和区域能量，用于发展适当的氧气和重症护理基础设施。这种基础设施需要大量教育和技术投入，需要在这些领域进行投资。
