Guidance for Awake Prone Ventilation in the non-intubated Conscious Patient

Prone positioning in spontaneously breathing non-intubated COVID-19 patients

This document provides guidance for African Union Member States on the use of awake prone positioning in non-intubated coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. It is intended for use among clinicians taking care of moderate to severe COVID-19 cases.
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought with it the need for improved critical care for patients who develop severe disease. The majority of COVID-19 patients present with mild to moderate illness, 15% develop severe illness and about 5% develop critical conditions needing intensive care unit (ICU) care, requiring noninvasive or invasive ventilation (1).