A new algorithm can predict how many patients will need intensive COVID-related healthcare.
A new algorithm can predict how many patients will need intensive COVID-related healthcare. This is valuable knowledge when it comes to prioritising caregivers and ventilators in individual hospitals. The innovation could save lives, according to the UCPH researcher behind the algorithm.
When the COVID-19 pandemic peaked in December of 2020, Danish hospitals were under maximum pressure. Hospital staffs were stretched thin and the Danish Health Authority had to make tough decisions to prioritise treatments. Among other things, this resulted in 35,500 postponed operations.
Now, an innovative algorithm will help alleviate pressure whenever Danish hospitals are confronted by new waves of COVID. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, among others, have developed the algorithm, which can predict the course of COVID patients' illnesses in relation to how many of them will be highly likely or unlikely to require intensive care or ventilation.
This is important for the allocation of staff across the nation's hospitals, explains one of the study’s authors.
Read more at University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science
Photo Credit: markusspiske via Pixabay
