- Page navigation anchor for RE: Oxygen inequity: addressing supply, demand, and conservation in concertRE: Oxygen inequity: addressing supply, demand, and conservation in concert
We fully endorse this well-written commentary on oxygen inequity. The authors rightly point out that increasing supply is a priority to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality. We think increasing supply alone is a partial solution, and we would encourage more emphasis on balancing increased supply with managed demand. This is not a concern in high-resource settings where supplies are almost unlimited and inexpensive. A common observation in resource-poor settings is that as the supply of oxygen improves so does the demand. Some of the increase in demand may be the appropriate increase in use in patient populations previously denied supplemental oxygen because of rationing. However, the increased demand further increases the risk of oxygen supply interruptions that can be life-threatening.
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Thus, supplying oxygen to facilities should be carefully integrated with innovations in oxygen demand management. For instance, improved healthcare personnel training and implementation of novel technologies can significantly reduce demand and harm from oxygen administration.
The use of pulse oximetry is a low-cost and effective way to ensure the safe and efficient use of oxygen. Without appropriate continuous pulse oximetry, many patients with hypoxemia will not receive oxygen when available, whereas many patients who do receive oxygen may not have hypoxemia. Automating the administration of oxygen using pulse oximetry which has been described in both newborns and adult...Competing Interests: None declared.
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