Special Oxygen Mask Could Provide Safe Alternative to Intubation

Continuous positive airway pressure could provide a less invasive treatment than intubation for oxygen deprivation, according to a Las Vegas Review Journal report.

According to the report, studies by ambulance services around the country have shown that CPAP devices provide effective therapy for patients with compromised air sacs in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs. Oxygen-rich gas is supplied at flow rates high enough to increase airway pressure, and the patient exhales against a resistance called positive end expiratory. The process helps ease the breathing process.

According to the report, patients who are intubated by first responders often end up on a mechanical ventilator or in intensive care. The CPAP could provide a safer alternative for emergency oxygen provision.

Read the Las Vegas Review Journal report on oxygen masks.

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