Versatility Of Supplemental Oxygen therapy

Despite the risks of oxygen use, the benefits of oxygen supplementation have been known for some time:
1

An Essential Element For Life

On a cellular level, oxygen maintains the normal physiologic processes required for sustaining life.1

Following inspiration, oxygen moves from the lungs into the blood where it is carried to target tissues throughout the body by hemoglobin, which is found in red blood cells.
Once oxygen reaches the target tissue, it is released from oxyhemoglobin and is used in the mitochondria to help generate the production of ATP during cellular respiration.

In total, aerobic respiration results in the production of 28 ATP molecules, the energy source to maintain physiologic processes within the cell.

2

Oxygen Is A Pulmonary Vasodilator

Breathing air into the alveoli following birth, or administration of supplemental oxygen in the case of respiratory distress, leads to improved oxygenation of the pulmonary vascular bed. Increases in alveolar oxygen concentration lead to vasodilation of the pulmonary vasculature, resulting in a decrease in pulmonary vascular resistance and increased pulmonary blood flow.2,3

3

For centuries, oxygen has been a useful component of medical care. Oxygen has many therapeutic uses, including treatment of1:

High altitude sickness High-altitude hypoxia
Drowning and burn victims Drowning victims
High altitude sickness Burn victims
Wound healing and skin care Wound healing and skin care
Tumor therapy Tumor therapy
Adult, pediatric, and neonatal respiratory diseases Adult, pediatric, and neonatal respiratory diseases

Oxygen supplementation is also a critical component during the treatment of respiratory failure, where the goal is to improve tissue oxygenation.4 Oxygen is used by cells throughout the body to produce the energy required to maintain physiologic processes.1

Like other therapeutic interventions, there are benefits and risks associated with the use of oxygen.

Oxygen is a drug that has been administered to more newborns worldwide than any other treatment.5