Coughing ‘a bigger aerosol risk’ than oxygen delivery
The finding is relevant to healthcare workers treating COVID-19, researchers say
A coughing patient — particularly one with COVID-19 — puts doctors and nurses at far greater risk from aerosol production than CPAP or high-flow nasal oxygen, UK researchers say.
The team from the University of Bristol, UK, have urged a rewrite of guidelines to remove the requirement for extra precautions when giving respiratory support.
“CPAP and [high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO)] are currently designated as aerosol-generating procedures despite limited high-quality experimental data,” they wrote in Thorax.
The findings come from the AERATOR (AERosolisation And Transmission Of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Settings) study group.
