A Review of the Literature to Determine Best Practices for Covid-19 Patients with COPD

Samantha L Fisher

With the events that have unfolded over the last year in the emergence of Covid-19, and the resulting pandemic, the medical field has been forced to find ways to ensure that those patients who seek treatment requiring oxygenation more than just traditional nasal cannula, are able to be treated successfully. Many Covid-19 patients with lung diseases, such as COPD, end up on a ventilator due to their oxygenation requirements. My research question is: In COVID-19 patients with COPD, what is the effect of Hi-flow nasal cannula (NC) on oxygenation compared with BIPAP/CPAP therapy during their hospitalization?” Five data bases were used in the literature search: CINAHL, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. The results will provide implications for practice for frontline healthcare personnel.

• Samantha Fisher is a MSN-CNL student at Lander University. She works as a Registered Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at the Columbia Healthcare VA in Columbia, SC. She has been a nurse for 16 years, starting her career as an LPN. She is a member of the Critical Care Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, South Carolina Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. She currently resides in Sumter, SC.