Oxygen Therapy: Understanding When and Why It's Needed

Oxygen therapy refers to giving patients oxygen at higher concentrations than those naturally found in the room to treat lack of oxygen in the blood. It includes both administering oxygen to patients through breathing apparatus and placing them in pressurized, hyperbaric chambers.

Significance

• To function properly, the body must take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Disruptions to this process can decrease the amount of oxygen in the blood, cause shortness of breath and strain the heart.

Purpose

• Conditions treated by oxygen therapy include chronic conditions such as obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, which includes both chronic bronchitis and emphysema) as well as emergency conditions such as trauma, hemorrhage, shock, convulsions and hypothermia. Some conditions treated by hyperbaric chambers include gas gangrene, carbon monoxide poisoning, embolism, smoke inhalation and decompression sickness.

Features

• In hospital settings, oxygen is piped throughout the facility from a central source and accessed by wall outlet connected to a flow meter and a valve. Patients breath the oxygen through a nasal tube or a mask. At home, oxygen is provided by pressurized canisters or an air compressor. In hyperbaric therapy, the patient is placed in a special chamber and the pressure is slowly increased.