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10 - 15 liters per minute
Oxygen
28%
Oxygen can be administered by nasal cannula, mask, and tent.
Your second question was: "can you overdose on oxygen wearing an oxygen mask?" The answer to that is no. Oxygen masks - as used by divers, fighter pilots and sometimes hospital patients - always offer a mix of oxygen and nitrogen so that oxygen poisoning cannot occur. However, if you were to put on a mask that makes you inhale only pure oxygen, it would after a little while start to poison your central nervous system. As to 'why your friend died': I have no idea.
A nonrebreather mask (NRB) should have an oxygen flow rate of at least 10 liters per minute in order to deliver the maximum oxygen concentration.
10 - 15 liters per minute
An oxygen mask used with a reservoir bag is called a partial rebreather mask. It is designed to deliver high concentrations of oxygen by allowing the patient to rebreathe some of the exhaled air along with oxygen from the reservoir bag.
partial rebreather mask with attached with 1L reservoir bag that saves 1/3 of exhaled air, while rest gets out via ports covered with one-way valve. This allows patient to rebreathe some of the carbon dioxide, which acts as stimulator of breathing.
Non rebreather mask
High flow oxygen using a non-rebreather mask has been found to be extremely helpful in cluster headache, however in Migraine it is only infrequently found to be helpful.
10-15 liters/min
nonrebreather more precise and delivers higher concentration Partial Rebreather Mask - Conserves oxygen - Can be administered in concentrations of 40-60% using flow rates of 6-10L - This is useful when oxygen concentrations must be raised - Cannot be used with a high degree of humidity - Not recommended for COPD patients - Should NEVER be used with a nebulizer Non-Rebreaqthing Mask - High concentrations of oxygen can be administered accurately - Oxygen flows into bag and mask during inhalation - Valves prevents expired air from flowing back into bag - Cannot be used with a high degree of humidity
The acronym NRB stands for "Non-rebreather mask". These are used in medical emergencies where the patient requires urgent oxygen therapy, as the mask allows higher concentrations of oxygen to enter the body.
Many COPD patients have no history of smoking. What you are asking is whether high levels of oxygen are indicated for those with chronic lung pathologies. Regardless of WHY the patient is in distress, withholding oxygen to someone with demonstrated critically low oxygen levels does more harm than good. There are many confusing and contradictory statements made about oxygen delivery and many are based on bad assumptions. To simplify the story: 1) one should have a means of determining low blood oxygen levels; 2) aim for a blood oxygen level of 90-94% or so; 3) just because you are delivering 100% oxygen in the mask doesn't mean that the patient is receiving 100% to the bloodstream (i.e. a 24% mask can deliver "too much" oxygen and a 100% mask may not deliver enough depending on their condition); 4) the conventional non-rebreather mask only delivers 55-60% oxygen at the best of times, proven by research; 5) most textbooks are not research and often quote oxygen levels using no references that support those claims (thereby perpetuating the myth); 6) the worst possible thing one can do is with-hold oxygen to someone demonstrating critically low blood oxygen levels...deliver what you can to get them to 90-94%. A non-rebreather mask may not deliver enough oxygen to a patient as their condition worsens. Therefore, as long as you can demonstrate a "need" for oxygen, a non-rebreather mask may be perfectly acceptable and occasionally insufficient.
Do not change any of the CPR steps for a quad patient. Having supplemental oxygen, using a BVM, or non-rebreather mask would be helpful.
As long as the patient needs it to improve oxygenation. The liter flow can be increased to 15L/min with a non-rebreather but if that's not sufficient the patient may need a cpap or bipap machine or even possible intubation.