EMS Care EMT Chapter 24-MCIT-F3-2112 | Artificial Ventilation  starts with an introduction to the topic. This Chapter discusses the essential knowledge and skills required to effectively manage airway and ventilation challenges in various patient populations. Its starts with overview of airway anatomy, along with basic and advanced ventilation techniques along with advanced airway devices, CPAP and the role of capnography.

The lessons covered are:

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Anatomy and Oxygen Therapy
• Lesson 2: Basic Artificial Ventilation Techniques
• Lesson 3: Advanced Airway Devices
• Lesson 4: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (C-Pap)
• Lesson 5: Understanding Capnography: The Basics
• Lesson 6: Special Considerations in Artificial Ventilation

Excerpt from EMS Care EMT Chapter 24-MCIT-F3-2112 | Artificial Ventilation 

To understand how our oxygen devices work, we need to start with the basics.

In the air we’re breathing right now, oxygen makes up about 21% of room air. Keep that number in mind – 21%. That’s our baseline. This is just referring only to the percent of oxygen in the air and not to a person’s blood oxygen saturation present, that’s the percent you get when you use a pulse oximeter. However, when the percent of oxygen in the air we breathe increases it will directly help increase our bloods oxygen saturations levels.

Now, let’s say we have a patient who needs a little extra oxygen. Our first option might be a nasal cannula. When we put someone on a nasal cannula:

At 1-6 litres, we can reach 38-44%

We usually don’t go above 6 liters on a nasal cannula because it gets pretty uncomfortable for the patient.

But what if our patient needs a lot more oxygen? That’s when we might reach for a non-rebreather mask, or NRB. This is a big jump up:

• When we run oxygen at 10-15 liters per minute through an NRB, we can deliver 80-95% oxygen
• But here’s the key point: that reservoir bag must stay inflated, and we need at least 10 liters per minute flow rate

Our two highest concentration delivery methods are BVM and CPAP.

• With room air only, we’re still at that baseline 21%
• But when we hook up oxygen at 15 liters per minute and attach a reservoir, we can deliver up to 90-100% oxygen to our patient
• This is why the BVM is so crucial in cardiac arrest and severe respiratory failure

CPAP Is a relatively new oxygen delivery device to pre-hospital care, and in some regions is part of a BLS provider’s skill set.  We have designated the entire lesson in this chapter to see CPAP so hang in there and we’ll learn more.

Remember: we’re always starting from that baseline of 21% in room air, and each device we add helps us boost that percentage higher based on our patient’s needs. The key is matching the right device to the right patient at the right time.