Abstract
Nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy, the delivery of supplementary oxygen into the nasopharynx via a fine catheter placed through the nose, is a simple technique used in postoperative anaesthetic care units and paediatric intensive care, but never described in the setting of adult intensive care. In a prospective crossover design, we compared nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy with semi-rigid plastic mask (Hudson Mask) in 50 unintubated adult patients receiving supplemental oxygen. We measured oxygen flow rate to achieve cutaneous saturations 93 to 96%, and patient comfort by visual analogue score. Nasopharyngeal oxygen therapy consumed significantly less oxygen than mask administration (3.0± 0.9 vs 67±2.1 l/min, P<0.001) and was associated with significantly higher comfort than the mask (75± 1.6 cm vs 5.2±1.8, P<0.001).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 670-671 |
Number of pages | 2 |
Journal | Anaesthesia and Intensive Care |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Intensive care: oxygen, nasopharyngeal