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This oxygen tank contains 100% oxygen at very high pressure and is found at every major health facility in the world including RSA,in our country it's refilled and assessed every thursday. It has a system where it increases supply when demand is high and vice versa
There are a number of valves that reduce its pressure so that when it gets to the patient it's delivered at the right pressure and concentration for human consumption
The pipelines that guarantee transport of oxygen to points of exit in theatres, wards and ICUs undergo rigorous testing to make sure any infectious material has been removed making the gas safe for human consumption
So whatever comes out of the oxygen giving points in hospital not only is clean but is delivered at adequate pressure and concentration
Over and above the tank there's a series of large oxygen cylinders that automatically switch on should the big tank fail ,there are 10 of these cylinders 5 on each side.
When the manifolds as we call them in science kick in they deliver clean gas at the right concentration and pressure. These cylinders are smaller than the big outside tank
In hospital there are even smaller oxygen cylinders filled with clean oxygen of the right concentration and pressure,these are used when both the big tank and the manifolds fail but are also used for in hospital patient transports to X-ray suites etc
Other gases that are used in hospitals are medical air and nitrous oxide. For the purpose of this talk I won't go into the same information as I did for oxygen.
Here's what's important to know about the interaction of oxygen,nitrous oxide and air:1.they never mix from their respective storage areas
2. They never mix in their trajectory to the hospital exit ports
3. Their piping systems are colour coded differently
4. Their pipes have unique connections for each gas
3. Their piping systems are colour coded differently
4. Their pipes have unique connections for each gas
The above features 1-4 makes it impossible to give very low oxygen concentrations (hypoxic mixture) to a patient. These are international standards
At the point of exit in the wards etc,a physician has the option of giving a mixture of the gases to a patient depending on the patient's specific requirements. On anaesthetic machines a physician is able to regulate how much of each gas to give whether in a mixture or alone
Ventilators are also equipped with the function of being able to regulate how much of these gases to give but needs to be set by a physician.
Example: a 25 year old healthy patient coming for a planned removal of a growth on the arm may do just fine being ventilated with about 40% oxygen for instance but a #COVID19 patient will struggle at oxygen concentrations that low
This will mean that the physician has to increase the amount of oxygen delivered to this patient who requires a lot higher oxygen concentrations than the above mentioned healthier patient.
#COVID19 ventilated patients require 100% oxygen because of the extent of unhealthy lung caused by the virus and this oxygen comes from the big tank outside hence oxygen usage in RSA has increased so much cos when you go to a hospital in distress you get 100% high flow oxygen
The essence of the thread was to educate us on where and how this 2021 commodity called oxygen is stored and delivered to a patient especially in the context of #COVID19.
I came across a VN of someone in the EC making accusations of hospitals in that province administering toxic oxygen or oxygen and another toxic gas to patients. Let's be careful of what information we share on socials.
Here's the VN from the EC I was talking about
So oxygen is quite cold as it comes out of the big tank because it's stored at very cold temperatures but a series of warming techniques are used to warm the gas before reaching the patient
As it comes out at the ports in the wards humidifying devices can be used to further increase the temperature of oxygen,this way your wind pipes remain moist and warm
