Gases used in healthcare

Medicinal oxygen is widely used in every healthcare setting, with applications from anaesthesia to inhalation therapy.
Quality care and safety are unquestionably critical, so it is important that oxygen is handled with the utmost diligence. L inde Healthcare offers medicinal oxygen solutions, products and services to meet the specific requirements of the care facility or to help patients in the home.
Advances in therapeutic uses of oxygen have resulted in increased usage for a number of diverse clinical applications, among them:

• ● To treat hypoxia and hypoxaemia.
• ● During surgery to maintain tissue oxygenation under anaesthesia, as well as pre-operative and post-operative uses on the ward.
• ● As part of resuscitation.
• ● In mechanical lung ventilation for the treatment of respiratory depression.
• ● In the treatment of diseases such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), pneumoconiosis, pneumonia, heart attack and pulmonary embolism.
• ● To treat respiratory distress syndrome in newborns.
• ● In the treatment of respiratory burns and as part of the gold standard of care for carbon monoxide poisoning.
• ● In homecare, for patients needing long-term oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation.

Medicinal oxygen is subject to rigorous regulations with regards to the production, handling and use. We follow strict guidelines in manufacturing, control and distribution. In addition, as your healthcare partner, we do more than supply high quality oxygen. We can provide the expertise, training and support needed to ensure that the oxygen is delivered safely every time needed.

Medicinal nitrous oxide has played an important role in anaesthesia over many years.
Medicinal nitrous oxide is used as an anaesthetic and analgesic agent:

• ● It acts synergistically when combined with other inhaled or intravenous anaesthetic agents.
• ● It has little effect on respiration and circulation during anaesthesia. Spontaneous breathing is preserved more effectively by using the combination of medicinal nitrous oxide and any of the commonly used inhaled anaesthetics rather than when using only a potent inhaled anaesthetic.
• ● Its rapid „wash-in“ (uptake) and ‘wash-out’ (fast elimination) together with its ability to maintain spontaneous respiration allow faster emergence when used with a modern inhaled anaesthetic than when the anaesthetic is used alone.

Medicinal nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture is used as an analgesic/sedative agent.
The low solubility of nitrous oxide in biological tissue and fluid means, in clinical practice, that medicinal nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture provide rapid pain relief and elimination of the gas from the lungs. A further safety feature is the composition of the premixed product consisting of a mixture of 50% nitrous oxide and oxygen to prevent hypoxia during administration.
Medicinal nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture can be administered by inhalation through face or nose masks or mouthpieces provided either as two separate gases delivered through a blender device or as fixed 50:50 mixtures. Gas flow can be controlled by a demand-valve activated by the patient’s inspired breath. The equipment is designed to be portable and easy to use both inside and outside hospital.
Because medicinal nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture is administered by inhalation and therefore are non-invasive, there is no need to insert a cannula or set up an intravenous line. This means that analgesia/sedation with the mixture does not need to be administered by a specialist anaesthetist but can be administered by trained staff such as paramedics, nurses and midwives.

A reliable supply of medicinal air is essential in hospitals, especially in the treatment of respiratory diseases.
In hospitals, medicinal air is used mainly for ventilation and aerosol therapy and during anaesthesia:

• ● When treating respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD, an effective way of delivering drug treatment is to direct it straight to the lungs by inhalation. Nebulisers are used to administer inhaled medication to patients who cannot use conventional inhalers. Medicinal air may be used to drive the drug treatment air to the nebuliser where liquid medication is converted to a mist that can be inhaled.
• ● Medicinal air is used as a carrier gas for narcotic substances in inhalational anaesthesia. It may also be used with nitric oxide as a substitute for supplemental oxygen to reduce the high concentration of oxygen exposure.
• ● Some patients are dependent on a reliable, high quality supply of medicinal air to protect their delicate and sensitive respiratory systems.