Related Experiment Videos
The myth of 100% oxygen delivery through manual resuscitation bags
Objective:
To determine the actual oxygen delivery of the manual resuscitation bags (MRBs) hanging at the bedsides of patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
Design:
Descriptive study of 24 MRBs in use at the patient's bedside from six adult ICUs at a 1100-bed Mid-Atlantic medical center.
Methods:
MRBs were Puritan Manual Resuscitators with reservoir. Oxygen concentration delivered was measured with a Ventronic Oxygen Analyzer Model 5575. Oxygen flow to the MRB was recorded before collecting data and then set at 15 L/min. The MRBs were compressed three times, with a 5-second interval between compressions.
Results:
Oxygen flow before data collection varied from 6 L/min to 15 L/min. Measurements taken at the exit port before MRB compression ranged from 23% to 97%. Oxygen concentration ranged from 26% to 95%, with a mean of 59%. The oxygen values for each compression time were significantly lower than 100% (p < 0.001). The first compression values differed significantly from the second compression (p < 0.001) and the second differed from the third compression (p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
MRBs are not delivering the level of oxygen nurses have assumed. In addition, variation in oxygen delivery occurs from compression to compression.