Heliox in airway management.

Abstract

Helium-oxygen ("heliox") mixtures have been used for decades in the treatment of various respiratory problems ranging from acute upper airway obstructions to lower airway derangements, such as asthma and exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. This review presents a brief history of helium and helium-oxygen mixtures and their potential clinical uses, summarizes the results of past research into heliox in respiratory applications, explains the physiology of heliox, and presents more recent literature relating to heliox in the clinical setting.

• Authors: Jane M McGarvey, Charles V Pollack
• Journal: Emergency medicine clinics of North America (Emerg Med Clin North Am) Vol. 26 Issue 4 Pg. 905-20, viii (Nov 2008) ISSN: 1558-0539 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19059090 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Helium
• heliox
• Oxygen

Topics

• Airway Obstruction (drug therapy, etiology, physiopathology)
• Bronchiolitis (complications)
• Child
• Emergency Service, Hospital
• Helium (administration & dosage, physiology, therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Oxygen (administration & dosage, physiology, therapeutic use)
• Radiation Injuries (complications)
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Respiratory Tract Diseases (drug therapy, etiology, physiopathology)
• Thyroid Neoplasms (complications)