Supplementary oxygen therapy is a treatment for hypoxemia, otherwise known as low oxygen levels in the blood. Oxygen is commonly used in the hospital, and also can be used by patients for long-term therapy at home. Oxygen should be considered as a drug, and therefore requires a formal prescription. It can be dangerous if administered excessively or insufficiently. For patients who are at risk of type 2 respiratory failure, such as those with COPD, severe chronic asthma, neuromuscular disorders, kyphoscoliosis, and obesity hypoventilation; the target saturation range should be 88 to 92 percent. For all other patients, the target saturation range should be 94 to 98 percent.<\/p>\r\n
Once you have watched this video, why not attempt the multiple choice quiz to test your knowledge?<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Supplementary oxygen therapy is a treatment for hypoxemia, otherwise known as low oxygen levels in the blood. Oxygen is commonly used in the hospital, and also can be used by patients for long-term therapy at home. Oxygen should be considered as a drug, and therefore requires a formal prescription. It can be dangerous if administered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tomorrows-clinicians","category-uncategorized","entry"],"youtubeVideo":"434726149\/b0d162b22d","question1":"What patient factors should be considered before delivering oxygen therapy?","answers1":"Current diagnosis| Severity of condition| Past medical history| All of the above\r\n","correctAnswer1":"3","correctAnswerText1":"The diagnosis will indicate whether oxygen therapy is required or not, the severity will indicate what percentage of oxygen to give and the past medical history will indicate what target saturations are appropriate for the patient e.g. 88% - 92% in some COPD patients.","question2":"Administering oxygen therapy is considered:","answers2":"A procedure and requires written consent| A drug and requires a prescription| A natural gas and there are no requirements for its administration| A potential toxic substance and can only be given to inpatients","correctAnswer2":"1","correctAnswerText2":"Oxygen therapy must be prescribed, unless it is a medical emergency.","question3":"What should be written on an oxygen therapy prescription?","answers3":"Concentration| Flow Rate| Delivery method| All of the above\r\n","correctAnswerText3":"Concentration, flow rate and delivery method should be documented along with target saturations.","correctAnswer3":"3","question4":"When would a target oxygen saturation range not be appropriate?","answers4":"In a patient with kyphoscoliosis| If a venturi mask is used| In an emergency situation| In a patient with COPD\r\n","correctAnswer4":"2","correctAnswerText4":"In a medical emergency high flow oxygen is initially used to achieve the highest possible oxygen concentrations to avoid any hypoxia.","question5":"What is the acceptable range of oxygen saturations for a chronic asthma patient with CO2 retention? ","answers5":"98% - 100%| 98% - 94%| 94% - 92%| 92% - 88%\r\n","correctAnswer5":"3","correctAnswerText5":"Due to chronically elevated CO2, relatively low O2 levels become responsible for driving respiration (hypoxic drive). Increasing the O2 concentration may remove the respiratory drive causing respiratory depression. Therefore, oxygen saturations between 92% - 88% is acceptable.","question6":"What is the ideal patient position for administering oxygen therapy?","answers6":"Sitting upright| Sitting at 45\u02da| Supine| Prone\r\n","correctAnswer6":"0","correctAnswerText6":"Sitting upright is the best position to ventilate the lungs optimally, as it allows maximum expansion of the lungs and free movement of the diaphragm.","question7":"How can an oxygen cylinder be identified?","answers7":"It is black with a white collar| It is blue with a blue and white collar| It is black with a grey collar| It is grey with a black collar","correctAnswer7":"0","correctAnswerText7":"Oxygen cylinders are black with a white collar or shoulder. Entonox cylinders are blue with a blue and white collar. CO2 cylinders are black with a grey collar. Nitrogen cylinders are grey with a black collar. ","question8":"What may a patient carry to identify them as oxygen sensitive and at risk of CO2 retention?","answers8":"Medical notes| Medi-alert bracelet| Oxygen alert card| All of the above\r\n","correctAnswer8":"2","correctAnswerText8":"","question9":"In a medical emergency, which oxygen delivery method is the most appropriate?","answers9":"Venturi mask| Non-rebreathe mask| Hudson mask| Nasal cannula\r\n","correctAnswer9":"1","correctAnswerText9":"A non-rebreather mask with a reservoir bag can deliver a higher concentration than the other devices listed (up to 80% oxygen). It is therefore the most appropriate delivery system in emergency situations.","question10":"Which of the following is a contraindication to oxygen therapy?","answers10":"COPD with CO2 retention| Paraquat posioning| Dehydrated patient with a dry mouth| All of the above\r\n","correctAnswer10":"1","correctAnswerText10":"The toxic effects of paraquat poisoning are made worse by oxygen administration and can be fatal. Therefore, you should not administer oxygen unless the patient is in respiratory extremis.","question11":"","answers11":"","correctAnswer11":"","correctAnswerText11":"","question12":"","answers12":"","correctAnswer12":"","correctAnswerText12":"","question13":"","answers13":"","correctAnswer13":"","correctAnswerText13":"","question14":"","answers14":"","correctAnswer14":"","correctAnswerText14":"","question15":"","answers15":"","correctAnswer15":"","correctAnswerText15":"","icon":"oxygen-therapy","parentId":"","recapId":"382","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":808,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vapp.rguc.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}