Use of oxygen therapy for adult patients outside the critical care areas of a university hospital

To obtain data on oxygen use among hospital inpatients criteria for instituting, monitoring, and stopping oxygen therapy were formulated. The records of 90 consecutive patients who had been started on oxygen therapy outside the critical care areas of a university hospital were then examined. By the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Lancet (British edition) Vol. 1; no. 8592; p. 981
Main Authors Fitzgerald, J M, Baynham, R, Powles, A C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 30.04.1988
Subjects
Heart Arrest - therapy
Hospitals, University
Humans
Medical Records
Oxygen - administration & dosage
Oxygen - therapeutic use
Respiration Disorders - therapy
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:To obtain data on oxygen use among hospital inpatients criteria for instituting, monitoring, and stopping oxygen therapy were formulated. The records of 90 consecutive patients who had been started on oxygen therapy outside the critical care areas of a university hospital were then examined. By the criteria, 79% of patients were deemed to have required oxygen therapy, 14.5% had been adequately monitored, and only 12% had had therapy terminated on the basis of appropriate physiological measurements. Prospective studies are required to validate monitoring recommendations and establish their cost-benefit ratio in terms of patient comfort and health-care costs.
ISSN:0140-6736