CT scan developed in Brazil can help fight Covid-19, says study

A CT scan created by the University of São Paulo can reduce the need for extracorporeal life support in Covid-19 patients by up to 80 percent, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital study. 

The scan monitors patients’ lungs in real-time and has also been shown to reduce the mortality of obese patients with severe respiratory failure by 50 percent. Experts say the tool allows doctors to see the “real situation” of patients hospitalized in ICUs.

Besides being further proof of the importance of Brazilian science during the pandemic — especially with the government’s decision to cut science and research budgets by 90 percent — experts say the scan could help Brazil curb its worryingly high mortality rates among intubated patients, which is currently at 80 percent, far beyond the global average of 50 percent.

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