proning

1 of 2

noun

pron·​ing ˈprō-niŋ 

: the act or practice of placing a patient and especially one in respiratory distress in the prone (see prone entry 1 sense 2a) position with the chest and stomach facing downward to increase blood oxygenation

During the chaotic days of March and April, emergency room doctors were quick to intubate patients with dangerously low oxygen levels. They subsequently discovered other ways to improve outcomes, including placing patients on their stomachs, a protocol known as proning that helps improve lung function.

—Andrew Jacobs

… doctors and nurses also have more experience handling coronavirus patients than they did months earlier in the pandemic, with techniques like proning and better therapeutics at the ready for severe hospitalized cases.

—Michael McGough

proning

2 of 2

present participle of prone entry 2

Examples of proning in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Supplemental oxygen and proning can keep patients’ oxygen levels up until their bodies are able to fend off the infection. —Andrew Joseph, STAT, 23 Nov. 2020

Flip patients over from their backs to their stomachs — a procedure called proning that takes pressure off the lungs, which lie closer to the back. —Lauran Neergaard and Nicole Winfield, Star Tribune, 1 Aug. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1978, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

proning

1 of 2 noun

pron·​ing ˈprō-niŋ 

: the act or practice of placing a patient and especially one in respiratory distress in the prone position with the chest and stomach facing downward to increase blood oxygenation

During the chaotic days of March and April, emergency room doctors were quick to intubate patients with dangerously low oxygen levels. They subsequently discovered other ways to improve outcomes, including placing patients on their stomachs, a protocol known as proning that helps improve lung function.

—Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times

After just five minutes of proning, sat levels rose to a near-normal mean of 94%. And in the end, about three-quarters of the patients never had to be put on a ventilator.

—Alan Mozes, HealthDay

proning

2 of 2

present participle of prone entry 2