Oxygen Therapy

Key points

• Oxygen therapy The British Thoracic Society updated its guidelines on emergency oxygen therapy in 2017. The following selected points are taken from the guidelines. Please see the link provided for the full guideline.
• acutely ill patients: 94-98%
• patients at risk of hypercapnia (e.g. COPD patients): 88-92% (see below)
• oxygen should be reduced in stable patients with satisfactory oxygen saturation Management of COPD patients
• prior to availability of blood gases, use a 28% Venturi mask at 4 l/min and aim for an oxygen saturation of 88-92% for patients with risk factors for hypercapnia but no prior history of respiratory acidosis