Nasal Cannula for Medical Oxygen – BOX OF 20

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Nasal cannula with 2.1m tubing to fit our range of medical oxygen cylinders

This nasal cannula is simple to attach to our range of medical oxygen cylinders (tank/bottle/canister) via the oxygen tubing which features a universal rubber end fitting to simply push fit onto our oxygen cylinder regulator outlets.

This clear medical oxygen nasal cannula features soft straight prongs. The cannula benefits from flexible multi channel medical oxygen tubing which allows the flow of  oxygen to continue if the tubing becomes kinked. This nasal cannula is very simple to attach to our medical oxygen cylinders and features a universal rubber end fitting that simply push fits onto our medical oxygen cylinder regulator outlets.

We also supply this nasal cannula as a single item.

 

In line with The British Thoracic Society guideline 'BTS Guideline for Oxygen Use in Adults in Healthcare and Emergency Settings', this nasal cannula is suitable for use with oxygen flow rate settings <6 LPM.

Take a look at our medium concentration oxygen mask if you require an oxygen flow rate between 5-10 LPM.

Take a look at our high concentration reservoir mask (non-rebreathing mask) if you require a high oxygen flow rate of 15 LPM.

 

The British Thoracic Society guideline 'BTS Guideline for Oxygen Use in Adults in Healthcare and Emergency Settings' states:

"Nasal cannulae can be used to deliver low-concentration and medium-concentration oxygen concentrations.

However, there is wide variation in patients’ breathing patterns so the same flow rate of nasal oxygen may have widely different effects on the blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels of different patients.

Nasal cannulae at 1–4 L/min can have effects on oxygen saturation approximately equivalent to those seen with 24–40% oxygen from Venturi masks.

The actual concentration of oxygen delivered (FiO2) cannot be predicted and so cannot be used if a calculation of A–a gradient is required.

The oxygen concentration continues to rise up to flows above 6 L/min.

Some patients may experience discomfort and nasal dryness at flows above 4 L/min, but they can be well tolerated.

Although one might expect mouth breathing to reduce the efficiency of nasal cannulae, the majority of studies have shown that mouth breathing results in either the same inspired oxygen concentration or a higher concentration, especially when the respiratory rate is increased.

This is important because patients with acute breathlessness are likely to breathe quickly and via the mouth rather than the nose.

As there is marked individual variation in breathing pattern, the flow rate must be adjusted based on oximetry measurements and, where necessary, blood gas measurements.

A cross-over comparison of nasal cannulae versus a Venturi mask (both adjusted to give satisfactory initial oxygen saturation) showed that the oxygen saturation of patients with exacerbated COPD fell below 90% for 5.4 hours/day during treatment with nasal cannulae compared with 3.7 hours/day during treatment with a Venturi mask.

However, that study was published in 1999 before oximetry was widely used to monitor oxygen saturation.

The upper range of oxygen delivery from nasal cannulae is a little lower than the output of a simple face mask, but the lower range goes a lot lower than a simple face mask which should not be used below a flow rate of 5 L/min (about 40% oxygen).

The performance and variation of nasal cannulae for medium-concentration oxygen therapy is broadly similar to that of the simple face mask, both in laboratory experiments and in clinical practice.

One study suggested that the saturation was lower with nasal cannulae than with simple face masks in a subgroup of men following abdominal surgery.

However, the use of target ranges would resolve this issue. Three patient preference studies comparing nasal cannulae with simple face masks in postoperative care found that patient preference was strongly in favour of nasal cannulae with up to 88% of patients preferring cannulae to masks.

Another advantage of cannulae over simple face masks is that they are less likely to be removed accidentally and they allow the patient to speak and eat.

There are no comparisons of these devices in acute care, but there is no reason to believe that the results would be any different for patients requiring medium-concentration oxygen therapy.

Nasal cannula (not Venturi masks) were used in the Austin et al’s51 study which showed improved survival from controlled oxygen therapy in AECOPD."

 

Explore our cylinder pages to view our medical oxygen cylinders and Nitronox cylinders.

Please use our enquiry form to place an order or arrange a call-back to discuss your requirements.