TY  - JOUR
AU  - Owens, Michael D.
AU  - Halliday, Megan
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/08/30
TI  - Pandemics 2020 –COVID 19 Silent Hypoxia and Polysubstance Use: A Unique Case Report
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 025
VL  - 06
IS  - 03
AB  - The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to bring challenges in identification and management of which the “happy hypoxic” or silent hypoxia presentation has been found to present its own unique challenge. A 67-year-old African American COVID-19 positive female presents to the emergency department (ED) with a chief complaint of decreased oral intake and responsiveness, oriented and stable, with oxygen saturations found to drop as low as 47%. The patient was successfully managed with supplemental oxygen and determined to be a “happy hypoxic” with recent polysubstance abuse. Silent hypoxia or the “happy hypoxic” patient is another unique phenomenon associated with the variable presentations of COVID-19. Multiple etiologies and pathophysiologic explanations exist to explain this stable patient whom would otherwise be expected to require aggressive management with a poor prognosis. An alternative diagnosis should be explored for those silent hypoxic patients with symptoms.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.2103025
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.2103025
ID  - Owens2021
ER  -