COVID Research: Open Access(CROA)
ISSN: 2995-7826 | DOI: 10.33140/CROA
Nanduri R. Prabhakar
University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, Biddeford, ME, USA
Publications
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Research Article
Maximal Breath Hold Associated with Inappropriate Change in Respiratory Rate in Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients Indicates a Blunted Ventilatory Response
Author(s): Micah T. Prochaska, Aaron Fox, Nanduri R. Prabhakar, Sandeep Tummala, Kaye Dandrea, William Dan, Atul Gupta and Zheng Xie*
Background: Some patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 associated disease (COVID-19) presented with hypoxemia without exhibiting dyspnea. This phenomenon was called “silent” or “happy” hypoxia. The cause of “silent hypoxia” was unknown. It was suspected that COVID-19 might be altering structures vital to the normal respiratory drive. Oxygen sensing glomus cells of the carotid bodies, express the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors used by COVID-19 to infect cells. In a healthy person, hypoxemia stimulates carotid body neural activity triggering reflex stimulation of breathing and tachycardia. If COVID-19 infected the carotid bodies, the cells might not respond to hypoxemia. Methods: We performed a prospective observational pilot study where the ventilatory responses to breath .. Read More»