1920 glass gas tight oxygen research room
Paper shows definite trend toward "science" in oxygen therapy.
Away from mere conjecture & anecdote.
Haldane spoke directly to physiology of hypoxemia.
Diffusion impairment & ventilation-perfusion imbalance.
American W.C. Stadie did first measurements of oxygen saturation in pneumonia.
Reports of societies: oxygen therapy.
A discussion on the therapeutic uses of oxygen.
January 20th.
Section of Therapeutics & Pharmacology of
Royal Society of Medicine.
Including comments by
J. Barcroft & J.S. Haldane.
British Medical Journal.
January 31.
Discussion opened by Mr. J. Barcroft, C.B.E., F.R.S..
Subject of oxygen therapy no new one.
Considerable diversity of opinion.
Particular class of case.
Soldiers & munition workers who had been gassed.
Glass room of about 1,000 cubic feet.
Living ward contained 3 beds.
Gas-tight & fitted with air locks.
40 to 50 % oxygen.
50-60 % of nitrogen.
CO2 & aqueous vapour removed by external circuit.
Scrubbers of soda-lime & calcium chloride & potassium permanganate.
First 14 cases response of pulse to effort as criterion.
Last 12 cases respiratory response as criterion.
Typical case:
S..
1915 April: gassed presumably with chlorine.
1917 October: treated.
Pulse before treatment took 9 to 10 minutes to fall within 6 beats per minute of resting rate after test exercise.
Pulse after treatment returned in 4th quarter minute.
Slight anoxaemia serious effect if persisting for long time.
Slight lowering of the oxygen pressure.
Unpleasant symptoms of mountain sickness.
Slight CO poisoning.
Unpleasant symptoms of mountain sickness.
Symptoms delayed.
Method of detecting slight degrees of anoxaemia.
(Deficiency of oxygen in arterial blood.)
Administer oxygen.
If anoxaemia present the lips would become redder.
Anoxaemia in acute illnesses.
Shown by recent work in America.
Stadie analyzsed arterial blood gases in cases of pneumonia.
Nearly all showed deficiency oxygen saturation of blood.
Sometimes as much as 50 %.
Such cases all died.
Similar results obtained in heart disease & bronchitis.
Anoxaemia might be due to two causes:
1) Thickening of alveolar epithelium of lungs.
2) Unequal ventilation of different parts of lungs.
Dr. Haldane demonstrated oxygen administration apparatus devised by him.