Oxygen delivery by hand-operated emergency ventilation devices

Abstract

Oxygen delivery is critical in the emergency treatment of cardiopulmonary failure, and hand-operated resuscitation units have advantages over other types of resuscitators. A comparison was made of the concentration of oxygen and the tidal volumes delivered by five commercial bag-valve-mask units at ventilation rates of 12 and 20 inflations/min, when supplied by oxygen at 10 liters/min. Maximal tidal volumes ranged from 1100 to 1700 cc while average volumes were between 670 and 1000 cc. The highest concentration of delivered oxygen, 48%, was obtained with the Laerdal Resuscl-Folding Bag. By the addition of an 82 cm reservoir tube and by increasing the flow to 15 llters/min, a concentration of 96% was achieved. An Ideal unit would deliver this oxygen concentration at a modest flow rate with a compact reservoir.