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Supplemental Oxygen Therapy

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Surgical Intensive Care Medicine

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Abstract

Intensivists caring for critically ill patients in a surgical intensive care unit continually face multiple diverse and challenging problems. While the specific disease processes in these patients are myriad, a fundamental goal is to provide adequate cellular respiration and thereby maintain sufficient tissue oxygenation and normal organ function. Successful cellular respiration depends on the maintenance of several factors, including adequate alveolar ventilation, a functioning gas-exchange surface, the capacity to transport oxygen to the tissue, and intact tissue respiration (the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase system). Subsequent chapters in this textbook describe problems with each of these factors and how intensivists should approach and manage them. This chapter focuses on alveolar ventilation and how to use supplemental oxygen therapy to improve arterial oxygenation in patients who are hypoxemic but do not require mechanical ventilation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, MA, USA

    Andrew G. Villanueva (Chairman)

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  1. Andrew G. Villanueva
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Critical Care Division of Surgery, The Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, MA, USA

    John M. O’Donnell (Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit Chairman) (Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit Chairman)

  2. University Hospital Intensive Care Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Flávio E. Nácul

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Villanueva, A.G. (2010). Supplemental Oxygen Therapy. In: O’Donnell, J.M., Nácul, F.E. (eds) Surgical Intensive Care Medicine. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77893-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77893-8_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77892-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-77893-8

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