Asymptomatic Hypoxemia as a Characteristic Symptom of Coronavirus Disease: A Narrative Review of Its Pathophysiology

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a pandemic and huge burden to healthcare systems worldwide. One of the characteristic symptoms COVID-19 is asymptomatic hypoxemia, also called happy hypoxia, silent or hypoxemia. Patients with hypoxemia often have no subjective symptoms, such as dyspnea, even though judged objective tests, blood gas analysis pulse oximetry. Asymptomatic can lead distress syndrome, delay in making diagnosis providing initial treatment fatal outcomes, especially during pandemic. Thus far, not many studies covered We present review on human response focusing rather than pathophysiology lung injury arising from SARS-CoV-2 infection. discussed whether specific infection common phenomenon lung-targeted viral infections.