What is it about?
Patients in need of oxygen supply often have variable need of oxygen, due to changes in the condition, such as exacerbation in Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). During hospital admission the oxygen need varies from minute to minute, but oxygen supply is normally fixed and only controlled and adjusted with several hours interval by nurses who monitor oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. By continuously monitoring of oxygen saturation, which is done by sending light through a fingertip (pulse oximetry) oxygen supply can automatically be adjusted every second to fit individual needs. O2matic is an oxygen robot which measures oxygen saturation every second and adjusts oxygen flow accordingly. We tested if O2matic was better than manual control by nurses to secure adequate and precise oxygen saturation.
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Why is it important?
It is well known that especially for patients with COPD it is important to secure adequate and precise oxygenation of the blood. Too low oxygenation causes damage to organs and delayed healing, whereas too high oxygenation impedes ventilation and increases the risk of carbondioxide retention in the blood, which in turn increases the risk of respiratory failure and need of mechanical ventilation. In this study we showed that automatic oxygen control by O2matic kept oxygenation in the right interval for 85 % of the time, whereas manual control by nurses only kept oxygenation in the right interval for 47 % of the time. Especially time with to little oxygen in the blood could almost be eliminated with O2matic.
Perspectives
Automatic oxygen control during admission carries great perspectives for safer and more effective oxygen administration. Oxygen is probably the most effective and lifesaving drug we have and it should be administered more precise and based on continuously measured oxygenation of the blood. In this study O2matic was tested in patients with COPD, but we believe that O2matic can be used for all conditions where oxygen supply is needed. The next step will be to adapt O2matic for home usage for the many patients on domiciliary oxygen, and secure adequate oxygenation on a continuous basis for those patients as well.
Senior consultant Ejvind Frausing Hansen
Region Hovedstaden
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Automated oxygen control with O2matic® during admission with exacerbation of COPD, International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, December 2018, Dove Medical Press,
DOI: 10.2147/copd.s183762.
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