Supplemental Oxygen
In the example illustrated, the maximum oxygen flow from the face mask (in the left pane) is limited to approximately 10 L/min which is not sufficient to meet the patient’s peak inspiratory demand of 50 L/min. To compensate for this deficit, 40 L/min of room air will be entrained for every breath, which will dilute the oxygen and deliver a variable (sometimes unknown) FiO2.
In our example (in the right pane), Optiflow is able to meet the patient’s entire inspiratory demand of 50 L/min, without the need for dilution of oxygen - this gives confidence in the delivery of a specified FiO
2.