Oxygen Therapy

Question 1

When do you give 15L oxygen?

Answer 1

When the patient is critically ill

Question 2

What do you do if the patient is at risk of hypercapnia?

Answer 2

Aim for 88-92% sats

Question 3

What does CPAP stand for?

Answer 3

Continuous positive airway pressure

Question 4

How does CPAP work?

Answer 4

It keeps a high pressure in the lungs which opens up the small terminal alveoli to increase the amount of gas exchange.

Question 5

What is the mechanism of CPAP?

Answer 5

There is a PEEP - positive end expiratory pressure - which is the lowest pressure allowed in the lungs. The higher value is the inspiratory pressure. The machine forces air into the lungs until it has reached the inspiratory pressure, at which point a valve opens and allows passive expiration until the point of PEEP.

Question 6

What is CPAP good for?

Answer 6

Type 1 respiratory failure
CCF
Acute pulmonary oedema
Sleep apnoe
Atelectasis
Pneumonia

Question 7

What does NIV stand for?

Answer 7

Non invasive ventilation

Question 8

What is NIV?

Answer 8

This is CPAP with an added push. So the air is actually fully forced in by the balloon bit. This increases the size of the breath of the patient. This way the lungs don’t inflate so passively.

Question 9

When is NIV used?

Answer 9

T2RF
COPD
Pneumonia
Post-intubation on ICU

Question 10

What is FiO2?

Answer 10

Fraction of inspired oxygen so 85% is expressed at 0.85 etc