Coronavirus, the owner of the Pisa pharmacy: “A useful test to quickly diagnose the patient’s respiratory function”
“In recent weeks we have received many requests for pulse oximeter, an important tool, now unobtainable, for the detection of some useful parameters, together with body temperature, of the symptoms related to Covid-19 – he explains Renato Raimo, owner of the pharmacy -. We have solved this problem by taking direct action. In fact, the test can be easily performed in the infirmary of our pharmacy and will meet the requests of doctors during the diagnosis phase, which unfortunately is now disregarded precisely because of the lack of these tools. The patient, in fact, being unable to find the instrument, cannot self-check and therefore report an important value for the diagnosis of Covid-19. The oximeter, also called pulse oximeter, is a tool similar to a clamp which, applied to the last phalanx of the finger, allows to know the oxygen saturation in the blood “.
A test useful for quickly and non-invasively diagnosing a state of hypoxia, that is, the possible lack of oxygen in the body and therefore the patient’s respiratory function. “For the doctor, measuring the amount of oxygen present in the blood and therefore promptly identifying any dyspnea, allows an early diagnosis of Covid-19 in the presence of other symptoms such as fever, sore throat, cough and difficulty breathing – continues Raimo -. Not finding these devices, therefore represents a limit for an early diagnosis and this is why we thought it would be useful to activate this nursing service, pending the availability of these important tools in the pharmacy and today, unfortunately, almost impossible to find ».
The test takes a few seconds. The device is generally applied to the last phalanx of a finger and the result is almost immediate. The pharmacy has dedicated schedules and staff, “equipped” with all individual protective devices, for the performance of the measurement service, active from Monday to Friday, from 10 to 12, in the pharmacy’s clinic.
