Oxygen Therapy Health Article

Definition

Oxygen may be classified as an element, a gas, and a drug. Oxygen therapy is the administration of oxygen at concentrations greater than that in room air to treat or prevent hypoxemia (not enough oxygen in the blood). Oxygen delivery systems are classified as stationary, portable, or ambulatory. Oxygen can be administered by nasal cannula, mask, and tent. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves placing the patient in an airtight chamber with oxygen under pressure.

Purpose

The body is constantly taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. If this process is inadequate, oxygen levels in the blood decrease, and the patient may need supplemental oxygen. Oxygen therapy is a key treatment in respiratory care. The purpose is to increase oxygen saturation in tissues where the saturation levels are too low due to illness or injury. Breathing prescribed oxygen increases the amount of oxygen in the blood, reduces the extra work of the heart, and decreases shortness of breath. Oxygen therapy is frequently ordered in the home care setting, as well as in acute (urgent) care facilities.

Some of the conditions oxygen therapy is used to treat include:

• documented hypoxemia
• severe respiratory distress (e.g., acute asthma or pneumonia)
• severe trauma
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic asthma)
• pulmonary hypertension
• cor pulmonale
• acute myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• short-term therapy, such as post-anesthesia recovery

Oxygen may also be used to treat chronic lung disease patients during exercise.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat the following conditions:

• gas gangrene
• decompression sickness
• air embolism
• smoke inhalation
• carbon monoxide poisoning
• cerebral hypoxic event

Helium-oxygen therapy is a treatment that may be used for patients with severe airway obstruction. The combination of helium and oxygen, known as heliox, reduces the density of the delivered gas, and has been shown to reduce the effort of breathing and improve ventilation when an airway obstruction is present. This type of treatment may be used in an emergency room for patients with acute, severe asthma.