Oxygen therapy – One Critical Minute [1CM]

We have One Critical Minute to focus on oxygen therapy. There are many ways to give your patient supplemental
oxygen, but how much should you be giving,and how much are you actually giving?Common target values of oxygen saturation
in the hospital are: over 95% for the vastmajority, 92-96% for acute medical conditions,
and 88-92% for people with COPD or ARDS. Note that giving too much oxygen leads to
oxygen toxicity, caused by absorption atelectasisand direct tissue damage (especially lung
injury) by the formation of free oxygen radicals. This is associated with a higher mortality
in acutely ill patients. Link in the description for a recent article
published in the Lancet. The fraction of inspired oxygen of room air
is 21%. The most common methods of administering low
flow oxygen on a medical or surgical wardare through a nasal cannula, a simple face
mask or a non-rebreathing mask. The amount of oxygen you administer is titrated
with the flow. Take a look at this table to see how much
flow corresponds with the FiO2. You then get a better feel for how much oxygen
your patient needs compared to room air. In summary, go as low as you can go. You are dismissed.