In this micro-lecture APC Hon. Snr. Lecturer Sam Willis talk about talk about nebulisation therapy which is a method of converting a medicine or solution into an aerosol, which in turn is inhaled directly into the lungs. As a Paramedic you may come across some kind of respiratory condition that requires nebulisation.
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In this lecture, we’re going to talk about nebulisation therapy.
As a paramedic, you are going to be called upon people who have got some kind of respiratory condition that requires nebulization.
Nebulisation involves using a mask, oxygen tubing, and a device called an acorn to house a certain drug.
What happens is the drug is placed into here, so you screw the top off, place the drug, usually Salbutamol into here. You can also use other drugs such as atrovent, which is also called Ipratropium Bromide.
You can also use adrenaline for croup in children, and you place the drug into here, which are a fluid, a liquid.
You place the top end into the top part of the mask, and then you connect one part of this oxygen tubing under here, and the other part of the oxygen tubing plugs directly into the oxygen therapy.
Once you’ve connected it all, and you’ve gone through your drug checks to make sure it’s the right drug and the right dose, and you’ve connected it all up, you then turn the oxygen on until you get a fine mist.
Some people will say use five liters, six liters, seven liters. It very much depends, so it depends on the oxygen mask.
There are different types of masks available on the market. With this mask, notice how you’ve got these exhalations. There are two parts which allows the patients’ CO2 to be exhaled so they’re not sucking in that carbon dioxide and making the patient acidotic.
You’ve got this elastic band that goes around the back of the head, and of course, you’ll never be able to deliver 100% oxygen with any of the masks that you give because the oxygen will always leak through this part and through this part as well.
That’s the process of nebulization.
The other thing you have to remember is before you get to give this drug, you have to make sure that you’ve assessed the patient as needing it. Think about your typical signs and symptoms of asthma, shortness of breath, expiratory wheeze, maybe they’re struggling to breathe, maybe they’re looking unwell, maybe they’re telling you, “I’ve got asthma, but my inhaler’s not working.”
Over the years, we started to move away from giving oxygen to COPD patients even with nebulization.
We’ve now started to attach this device to canisters of air because you remember with COPD patients, high levels of oxygen can instigate what’s called the ‘hypoxic drive theory.’
That’s just a micro lecture on nebulization therapy. I hope you found it useful. My name’s Sam Willis (APC Hon. Snr. Lecturer) and I look forward to speaking to you shortly.
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