Supplemental oxygen delivery to the nonventilated neonate

Oxygen is one of the most commonly administered drugs in the neonatal intensive care unit. A variety of techniques exists to deliver oxygen to infants who are not on a ventilator or who are not receiving positive pressure. These techniques include oxygen hood, nasal cannula, face mask delivery or "free flow," and "flooding" the incubator with oxygen. Because each technique has unique advantages and disadvantages, the choice is frequently dependent on style. Recent advances in incubator technology have improved the delivery of supplcmental oxygen by incubator flooding. This technique is generally underutilized, but it has some advantages over thc other modalities in certain clinical scenarios. The neonatal nurse needs to be aware of the characteristics of the various oxygen delivery technologies and the tools needed to optimally care for infants who are dependent on supplemental oxygen.