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Health officials around the world are asking for more ventilators to treat coronavirus patients. 在新冠疫情下，世界各地的卫生官员们积极推荐使用更多的呼吸机来治疗患者。 There are a few doctors, however, who are moving away from using the machines. 不过，也有少数医生正在摒弃使用这种机器。 The reason: Some hospitals have reportedunusually high death rates for coronavirus patients on ventilators. 因为有一部分医院报告说明，对于冠状病毒患者来说，使用呼吸机后的死亡率异常高。
Some doctors worry that the machines could be harming patients with some conditions. 一些医生担心，这种机器可能会对某些病症患者造成伤害。 Doctors are still learning the best way to control the virus, which appeared only a fewmonths ago. 这种病毒出现于几个月前，医生们仍在研究控制它的最佳方法。 Some doctors are making decisions quickly as they face a large number of patients and too few medical supplies. 面对患者数量众多、医疗用品太少的情况，一些医生正在迅速做出决定。
Mechanical ventilators push oxygen into the lungs of sick patients. 机械呼吸机将氧气推入患者的肺部。 Using the machines means putting the patient to sleep and pushing a tube into their throat. 使用这种机器意味着让患者进入睡眠状态，并将一根管子插入他们的喉咙。 Deaths in patients who need ventilators are common. 对需要使用呼吸机的患者来说，死亡很常见。
About 40 percent to 50 percent of patients with severe breathing problems die while onventilators, experts say. 专家称，大约40%到50%的严重呼吸问题患者在使用呼吸机时死亡。 But 8o percent or more of coronavirus patients placed on the machines in New York City have died, state and city officials say. 但是，州和市政府官员称，纽约市80%或更多使用这种机器的冠状病毒患者已经死亡。 Higher- than-normal death rates also have been reported in other places in the U.S, said Dr. Albert Rizzo. 艾伯特.里佐博士表示，据报道，美国其他一 些地方的死亡率也高于正常水平。
He is the American Lung Association's chief medical ofcer. 他是美国肺脏协会的首席医疗官。 Similar reports have come from China and Britain. 中国和英国也有类似的报道。 One British report said that 66 percent of those put on ventilators died. 英国的一份报告称，66%使用呼吸机的人死亡。
The reason is not clear. 原因尚不清楚。 Some experts said it might have to do with the health of the patients before they were infected. 一些专家表示， 这可能与患者在感染前的健康状况有关。 Or, it could be related to how sick the patients had become by the time they were put on the machines. 或者，这可能与患者在使用机器时的病情严重程度有关。
But health officials have wondered whether ventilators might be making the situationworse in some patients. 但是，卫生官员们想弄清楚，使用呼吸机之后会不会使一些患者的病情恶化。 Experts say ventilators can be damaging to a patient because of the pressure on the lungs as the oxygen is forced in over time. 专家称，呼吸机可能会对患者造成伤害，因为随着时间的推移，氧气被推入肺部会给肺部造成压力。 "We know that mechanical ventilation is not benign,"said Dr. Eddy Fan. “我们知道机械通气不是良性的，” 范艾迪博士说。
He is with Toronto General Hospital. 他在多伦多总医院工作。 "We have to be careful how we use it," he added. “我们必须谨慎使用，”他补充道。 But some doctors say they are trying to keep patients off ventilators as long as possible. 但一些医生表示，他们正试图让病人尽可能长时间地不使用呼吸机。
They are using other medical technology instead. . 他们正在使用其他替代性的医疗技术。 Only a few weeks ago in New York City, very sick coronavirus patients were put on ventilators to keep them breathing, said Dr.Joseph Habboushe. 约瑟夫哈布希博士称，就在几周前，纽约市病情严重的冠状病毒患者还在使用呼吸机来维持呼吸。 He is an emergency room doctor who works in Manhattan hospitals. 他是一名急诊室医生, 在曼哈顿的医院工作。 But physicians are trying other treatments first. 但是医生们现在会先尝试其他疗法。 One includes giving patients oxygen through tubes in the nose; 一种是通过鼻管给患者输氧; another is having patients lie in different positions to let air into the lungs. 另一种是让患者以不同的姿势躺着，让空气进入肺部。 He said those decisions are separate from worries that there are not enough ventilators in the United States. 他表示，这些决定与担心美国没有足够的呼吸机无关。 That is also a worry, Habboushe added. 哈布希补充道，后者也是一个担忧。
There are reports that coronavirus patients are usually on ventilators much longer than other patients, said Dr. William Schaffner. 有报道称，冠状病毒患者通常比其他患者使用呼吸机的时间要长得多，威廉.沙夫纳博士说。 He is an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University. 他是范德比尔特大学的传染病专家。 Experts say before coronavirus, a patient was on a ventilator for only one or two days. 专家称，在冠状病毒出现之前，患者-般只使用呼吸机一两天。 Coronavirus patients use ventilators for up to 15 days, and they are dying. 冠状病毒患者使用呼吸机的时间长达15天，而且他们通常生命垂危。 The long 15- day period is the reason doctors are worried about a shortage of ventilators. 长达15天的使用时间是医生担心呼吸机短缺的原因。 As cases increase, doctors may be forced to decide who gets one and who does not. 随着病例的增加，医生可能会被迫决定谁用呼吸机,谁不用呼吸机。 |
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