medical gas therapy is one of the most common types of respiratory care it involves the process
of delivering pressurized gases to treat a wide variety of pulmonary conditions in this video we
will provide an overview of medical gas therapy and how it is used in the field of respiratory
care so if you're ready let's get into it what is medical gas therapy as previously mentioned
medical gas therapy is a treatment modality in which gas is administrated to the patient
each medical gas including oxygen is considered to be a drug this means that it should only be
administrated with the approval of a qualified physician or respiratory therapist when delivering
medical gas therapy it's important to consider the types of gas dosage and delivery method each
may vary depending on the patient's condition first let's talk about the types of medical gases
there are several different types of medical gases that are used in the healthcare setting including
oxygen air heliox nitric oxide and carbogyn each type of gas has different uses indications and
contraindications as a respiratory therapist you must be familiar with the delivery of each type
oxygen is the most common medical gas that is delivered it's used to treat patients with
hypoxemia dyspnea and acute or chronic respiratory conditions medical air is considered to be
a medical grade gas because it's been treated to remove impurities it is primarily used for
respiratory support in the hospital setting heliox is a mixture of helium and oxygen this gas has a
low density which is useful for treating acute obstructive disorders it's also used to treat
croup severe asthma and post extubation strider nitric oxide is a colorless odorless medical gas
that promotes vascular smooth muscle relaxation it helps improve blood flow to vented alveoli which
results in improved oxygenation and decreased shunting carbogen is a mixture of oxygen and
carbon dioxide and is a medical gas that is rarely used today however this gas has previously been
used to treat hiccups carbon monoxide poisoning and congenital cardiac anomalies in neonates
now let's talk about oxygen therapy oxygen therapy is the process of administrating
oxygen for therapeutic purposes the primary goal of delivering oxygen therapy is to maintain tissue
oxygenation throughout the body this helps prevent hypoxemia while minimizing the cardiopulmonary
workload so that the heart and lungs can function properly hypoxemia is a medical term that refers
to low levels of oxygen in arterial blood some of the most common causes of hypoxemia
include anemia ards asthma copd emphysema chronic bronchitis interstitial lung disease
atelectasis pneumonia pneumothorax pulmonary edema congestive heart failure pulmonary embolism
pulmonary fibrosis and sleep apnea these are just a few common examples as there are many disease
processes that can cause inadequate oxygenation but again the primary goal of oxygen therapy
is to treat hypoxemia and decrease the workload that it imposes on the patient's heart and lungs
now we need to discuss the oxygen delivery system oxygen delivery requires the use of a device that
facilitates gas flow to the patient's airways some examples of the oxygen delivery system that are
used include nasal cannula nasal catheter transtracheal catheter reservoir cannula
simple mask partial re-breathing mask non-rebreathing mask air entrainment mask oxyhood
isolet and oxygen tent each type has different uses indications advantages and disadvantages
respiratory therapists are required to understand how to deliver oxygen therapy with each delivery
system which we've covered each individually in other videos and resources in our channel and
website the different types of delivery systems include low flow high flow reservoir and enclosure
low flow delivery systems provide oxygen at flows of 8 liters per minute or less
this includes nasal cannulas nasal catheters and transtracheal catheters high flow delivery
systems provide oxygen at flows that equal to or exceed the patient's peak inspiratory flow
this includes air entrainment masks air entrainment nebulizers blending systems
and high flow nasal cannulas reservoir delivery systems are effective because they can gather and
store oxygen between the patient's breaths some examples include simple masks reservoir cannulas
partial re-breathing masks and non-rebreathing masks enclosure delivery systems provide
oxygen by completely enclosing the patient from the outside environment
this includes oxygen hoods isolettes and oxygen tints another specific type that we should mention
is hyperbaric oxygen therapy which is a treatment modality in which the patient is exposed to 100
oxygen at pressures greater than the atmosphere absolute this elevated pressure increases the
amount of dissolved oxygen that can enter the body hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes
hyper-oxygenation vasoconstriction enhanced host immune function and neovascularization
it is most commonly used in respiratory care to treat patients with carbon monoxide poisoning
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think you will enjoy and just a quick reminder we are not doctors this video is for informational
purposes only thank you so much for watching have a blessed day and as always breathe easy my friend