Skip to main content
British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1986 Jul 12;293(6539):111–114. doi: 10.1136/bmj.293.6539.111

Long term transtracheal oxygen delivery through microcatheter in patients with hypoxaemia due to chronic obstructive airways disease.

N R Banner, J R Govan
PMCID: PMC1340846  PMID: 3089412

Abstract

Transtracheal administration of oxygen is a new technique for long term treatment. Twenty patients with hypoxaemia due to chronic obstructive airways disease were studied while receiving oxygen through a microcatheter inserted percutaneously into the trachea. By bypassing most of the dead space and avoiding oxygen wastage at the face this method of delivery reduced oxygen requirements by roughly half compared with delivery through nasal cannulas, thus reducing costs and facilitating portable treatment. Twelve of these patients continued to use the system for up to 13 months in preference to using nasal cannulas. Two important complications were a staphylococcal infection and a fractured catheter. Transtracheal oxygen reduced breathlessness and helped patients with routine daily activities. Transtracheal administration of oxygen is a practical method of treatment which may have an important role in rehabilitating patients with chronic lung disease.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anthonisen N. R. Long-term oxygen therapy. Ann Intern Med. 1983 Oct;99(4):519–527. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-99-4-519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Gould G. A., Hayhurst M. D., Scott W., Flenley D. C. Clinical assessment of oxygen conserving devices in chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Thorax. 1985 Nov;40(11):820–824. doi: 10.1136/thx.40.11.820. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Heimlich H. J. Respiratory rehabilitation with transtracheal oxygen system. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1982 Nov-Dec;91(6 Pt 1):643–647. doi: 10.1177/000348948209100626. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Leggett R. J., Flenley D. C. Portable oxygen and exercise tolerance in patients with chronic hypoxic cor pulmonale. Br Med J. 1977 Jul 9;2(6079):84–86. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6079.84. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lowson K. V., Drummond M. F., Bishop J. M. Costing new services: long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy. Lancet. 1981 May 23;1(8230):1146–1149. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(81)92311-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Moore-Gillon J. C., George R. J., Geddes D. M. An oxygen conserving nasal cannula. Thorax. 1985 Nov;40(11):817–819. doi: 10.1136/thx.40.11.817. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Williams B. T., Nicholl J. P. Prevalence of hypoxaemic chronic obstructive lung disease with reference to long-term oxygen therapy. Lancet. 1985 Aug 17;2(8451):369–372. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(85)92505-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Woodcock A. A., Gross E. R., Geddes D. M. Oxygen relieves breathlessness in "pink puffers". Lancet. 1981 Apr 25;1(8226):907–909. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(81)91612-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal (Clinical research ed.) are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES