BY MIKE STOBBE, NEW YORK — Health officials around the world are pushing to get more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, but some doctors actually are moving away from using the machines.
The reason is that some hospitals have reported unusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators.
Also, some doctors worry that the machines could be harming certain patients.
Generally speaking, 40% to 50% of patients with severe respiratory distress die while on ventilators.
But as many as 85% of the coronavirus patients placed on the machines within New York City’s public hospital system have died.
