The COVID-19 pandemic spurred efforts to develop emergency ventilators, though few progressed beyond laboratory testing. This study evaluates CoroVent, a rapidly manufactured ventilator, during real-life deployment in critically ill COVID-19 patients amid ventilator shortages.

This retrospective observational study included patients ventilated with emergency ventilator CoroVent. This device uses a novel and unique way of generating inspiratory flow and gas mixing using fast ON/OFF valves for air and oxygen, producing pneumatic pulses that are then smoothed into continuous flow. Clinical data were collected from 3 hospitals between October 2020 and March 2021, selected from 27 contacted, of which 23 responded and 4 reported clinical use.

Eight male patients (mean age 67 years, BMI 37.2 kg·m–2) with COVID-19 or suspected infection were ventilated with CoroVent for 31.3 (10.0–58.5) hours. The mean FiO2 was 71.4%, PEEP 10.6 cmH2O, and Vt 8.9 mL·kg–1 predicted body weight. CoroVent was used as an initial or replacement ventilator during device shortages. No major technical failures occurred.

This is the first report of real-life clinical use of a rapidly manufactured emergency ventilator during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results confirm that such devices, if well-designed, can provide effective respiratory support when conventional ventilators are unavailable.