Abstract
Supplemental oxygen is one of the most commonly prescribed therapies to children in hospital, but one of the least studied therapeutics. This review considers oxygen from a range of perspectives; discovery and early use; estimation of oxygenation in the human body—both clinically and by medical device; the effects of illness on oxygen utilization; the cellular consequences of low oxygen; and finally, how clinical studies currently inform our approach to targeting supplementing oxygen in those with lower than normal oxygen saturation.
Highlights
This review considers oxygen from a range of perspectives; discovery and early use; estimation of oxygenation in the human body—both clinically and by medical device; the effects of illness on oxygen utilization; the cellular consequences of low oxygen; and how clinical studies currently inform our approach to targeting supplementing oxygen in those with lower than normal oxygen saturation
Detection of clinical cyanosis in respiratory illness varies appreciably from clinician to clinician [11], and identifying hypoxemia is significantly improved by availability of oxygen saturation measurement [12]
Global oxygen consumption (VO2) at a cellular level is increased by pyrexia, physical activity, catabolic states, and pain, whereas VO2. Global oxygen consumption (VO2) is reduced by sedation, muscle paralysis, assisted ventilation and hypothermia
Summary
Despite some medical studies throughout the 19th century [1] with advanced understanding of physical and chemical properties of oxygen (the Fick Principle in particular), it was not until 1917 when the Scottish physician/physiologist John Scott Haldane published a seminal paper on the proposed therapeutic administration of oxygen that sparked a revolution for the use of oxygen in medicine [2]: continuous oxygen delivery was more beneficial than intermittent use. Though it would not be until the 1960s, his theory was proved correct [3].
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