Anaesthesia Fundamentals | Physiology | Ventilatory Failure and Oxygen Therapy

Ventilatory Failure and Oxygen Therapy
Session Overview
Description
This session covers the physiology and causes of the different types of ventilatory/respiratory failure. The effect of ventilatory failure on blood gases, treatment options, oxygen therapy and oxygen toxicity is also discussed.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Distinguish between the different types of respiratory failure
• Explain the causes of ventilatory failure
• Describe the effect on blood gases secondary to ventilatory failure
• Discuss oxygen toxicity
• Discuss the physiological effects of positive pressure ventilation

This session covers respiratory failure (RF), ventilatory failure (VF) and common clinical conditions where they occur.

Key to this is the interlinked relationship between oxygen, CO2 and alveolar ventilation.

The interaction of these factors drives healthy ventilation and respiration and the balance between them must be maintained to avoid VF.

If VF occurs, there are a range of methods for treating it, including simple oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation/support and inspiratory positive pressure ventilation (IPPV).