Paediatric Pulmonology and Allergology

2003 October, Vol. VI, No. 2 (pp.2326-2331)

Long-term oxygen therapy: oxygen systems and delivery methods

Elena Bernotiene, Aleksandras Balbieris, Remigijus Valdemaras Nargela

Oxy­gen the­ra­py for wi­desp­re­ad use we­re avai­lab­le when cy­lin­ders of com­pres­sed ga­se­ous oxy­gen we­re const­ruc­ted. To­day three sys­tems de­li­ve­ring oxy­gen is avai­lab­le for long-term oxy­gen the­ra­py (LTOT) at ho­me: com­pre­sed gas cy­lin­ders, li­quid oxy­gen sys­tems and oxy­gen con­cen­tra­tors. Gas cy­lin­ders and li­quid oxy­gen sys­tems are avai­lab­le for sta­tio­na­ry and for por­tab­le use. Oxy­gen con­cen­tra­tors are com­mon­ly used as sta­tio­na­ry sys­tems. The­se sys­tems ha­ve dif­fe­rent mo­bi­li­ty, ser­vi­se and cost fe­a­tu­res. Dif­fe­rent oxy­gen de­li­ve­ry met­hods are avai­lab­le for the­se sys­tems. Most po­pu­lar met­hod for oxy­gen de­li­ve­ring in am­bu­la­to­ry con­di­tions is the con­ti­nuo­us flow du­al-pro­long na­sal can­nu­la. Sim­ple fa­ce masks, Ven­tu­ri masks, oxy­gen-con­ser­ving sys­tems and transt­ra­che­al cat­he­ter can be used for LTOT at ho­me too. Which sys­tem to cho­o­se de­pends on pa­tients in­di­vi­du­al fe­a­tu­res, cli­ni­cal aim and eco­no­mi­cal si­tu­a­tion.

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