Jan 19, 2022
Planet Lockdown is a documentary on the situation the world finds itself in. We spoke to some of the brightest and bravest minds in the world including epidemiologists, scientists, doctors, lawyers, protesters, a statesman and a prince. These brave souls had the courage to speak truth against all odds and inspire us to do the same. We must have the courage to overcome our fears. Once we do, it gets easier every time.
COMMENT by Dr. Michael Yeadon
(Dr. Michael Yeadon is an Allergy & Respiratory Therapeutic Area expert with 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry. He trained as a biochemist and pharmacologist, obtaining his PhD from the University of Surrey (UK) in 1988. Dr. Yeadon then worked at the Wellcome Research Labs. Joining Pfizer in 1995, he was responsible for the growth and portfolio delivery of the Allergy & Respiratory pipeline within the company and won an Achievement Award for productivity in 2008. His statement follows.)
“Viral infections are not obstructive lung diseases. There’s nothing about the pathology of viral respiratory infections that prevents people breathing by themselves. It’s not like severe asthma, where the effort of breathing against narrowed airways can eventually exhaust a person. Nor is it like a brain stem injury, damaging what’s called the respiratory pattern generator. Or such severe injuries like chest wall trauma where pain & pneumothorax might prevent a person breathing unaided. Or when a person is so deeply unconscious that their spontaneous efforts of breathing are inadequate to maintain gas exchange. None of the above. So what is the justification for sedation & mechanical ventilation? There isn’t one. Gas exchange certainly can be compromised, but the most conservative treatment is a mask or nasal cannulae with higher oxygen concentrations than the 21% of room air.
Mechanical ventilation is a crucial part of life support, but it’s not without considerable risks. If you sedate, intubate & ventilate a group of healthy people for a few days, some of them will die. Your body is not designed to have its lungs inflated by raising the pressure in the trachea, but by lowering the pressure in the central airways. In the latter case, the airways open smoothly & progressively, from the most compliant to the least. Applying external pressure results in filling unnaturally & involving repetitive stretching movements to the airway wall. This results in injury, slight at first, which responds with swelling & oedema. That in turn stiffens the lung & raises the opening pressure. Turning one or many of the controls up, in order to overcome that increased resistance further injures the delicate tissues of the respiratory tract. It’s a very skilful job, balancing all the factors & I’ve heard it described as “flying the patient”. It’s not just a matter of pushing in a tube & turning on a machine.”
