M.Cur. / Neonates born with respiratory distress require supplementary oxygen. In some cases it is necessary to ventilate these neonates in order to obtain adequate tissue oxygenation. Due to the potential complications of mechanical ventilation it is necessary to extubate the neonate as soon as possible after intubation and administer supplementary oxygen by an alternate method. Any form of oxygen therapy carries the risk of oxygen toxicity. It is therefore essential that the method of oxygen therapy opted for after extubation will result in the infant being weaned in the shortest time possible. In the two NICUs from which the sample was taken for this study, neonates are currently extubated and placed either in a head box, on nasal CP AP or on a nasal cannula, these being the methods used to administer oxygen to a neonate. The decision regarding the method of choice is currently directed by customary practices rather than physiological variables as indicators/criteria of effectiveness. The questions that arise from the research problem are as follows: • Which physiological variables should be considered when faced with the decision regarding the method of oxygen therapy to initiate after extubation of a neonate? • Are there any differences in the effectiveness of the two methods of oxygen therapy, namely headbox and nasal cannula, after extubation of a neonate? The purpose of this study was to compare two methods of oxygen therapy, after extubation of the neonate with respiratory distress syndrome, in an attempt to formulate guidelines; based on physiological variables as criteria/indicators of effectiveness. After analyzing the data, as described in Chapter 4, it became evident that it would not be possible to formulate guidelines. Therefore only a comparison was done between the two methods of oxygen therapy (headbox and nasal cannula,) based on both biographical and physiological variables as criteria/indicators, to determine whether there were any significant differences in the effectiveness of the two methods after extubation of the neonate.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:1827 |
| Date | 06 December 2011 |
| Creators | Van Schoor, Diane |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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