COVID-19 is producing seismic changes in society at large and the action of doctors is receiving greater attention from the public than ever in our lifetime. The medical care provided to millions of patients suffering from a single disease constitutes an experiment of nature of extraordinary proportions. The release of voluminous data into medical journals provides the spur to meditate on long-held assumptions about the way we interpret clinical research.

Two studies published in the European Respiratory Journal reveal dramatic benefits with use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in COVID-19 patients managed outside the ICU.