Keio University

A Survey of Healthcare Professionals on Explaining Medical Conditions to Patients with Severe Respiratory Failure due to COVID-19 and Their Families—Revealing the Reality of Medical Staff Seeking Best Practices Amidst Urgency and Infection Control

Publish: June 09, 2021
Public Relations Office

2021/06/09

Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Keio University School of Medicine

Only about one-third of the responding facilities had established criteria for initiating mechanical ventilation or ECMO for the treatment of COVID-19.

The survey revealed that in many cases, an explanation of the risk of the disease becoming severe and the potential need for mechanical ventilation or ECMO was provided at the start of treatment.

It was also found that because the family members of patients hospitalized with this infectious disease are often close contacts and unable to visit the hospital, medical conditions are frequently explained verbally, such as by telephone. This revealed the difficulty of accurately conveying the patient's specific condition.

For the full press release, please see below.

Press Release (PDF)