Big, Bad Flu

Is there anything more refreshing than cooler fall mornings and evenings after a hot and humid summer? The kids are back in school, fall sports (ahem, college football!) have begun, and the holidays are right around the corner. Cooler weather…kids’ germs…lots of gatherings…ahhh, the perfect breeding ground for viruses!

I spent years as a nurse in a Medical-Surgical ICU taking care of patients who were unfortunate enough to get critically ill from common viruses like influenza. I will never forget a couple that both contracted the flu. The couple went to their doctor to get their prescription for Tamiflu. Unfortunately, that year there was a shortage of medication and an overabundance of flu so there was only one dose of the medicine. This sweet couple decided to share it. Regrettably, it didn’t work, and they both ended up as patients in our ICU. After a long fight, they both fully recovered.

In the 2022-2023 season, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there were 31 million symptomatic cases of flu with 360,000 hospitalizations and 21,000 deaths in the United States1. The World Health Organization states that out of around one billion cases of flu in the world every year, 3-5 million cases progress to severe2. Out of severe cases of flu, 39.4% of patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)3. For patients with influenza-induced ARDS, early prone positioning is highly recommended as it benefits oxygenation and lung recruitment4.

As your facility prepares for the upcoming respiratory season, let Turn Medical help provide tools to make your job easier. Since prone positioning is indicated for many different types of respiratory illnesses, we developed the Pronova-O2TM Automated Prone Therapy System. The Pronova-O2TM is more than just a bed – it is a system designed to protect patients and caregivers. It provides automated prone and supine positioning as well as continuous lateral rotation therapy in the prone and supine positions up to 65O bilaterally. The automation feature provides a way to position patients and reduce lift injury for healthcare staff. Call us at 855-ASK-TURN or go to Turnmedical.com for more information.