Design of oxygen delivery systems influences both effectiveness and comfort in adult volunteers.

Purpose: The aim of this investigation was to compare the efficiency of four oxygen delivery systems in healthy volunteers.

Methods: The subjects received oxygen at flow rates of 3.0 and 5.0 L*min(-1) via a face mask, nasal cannulae, and two kinds of new open- and microphone-type oxygen delivery systems (OxyArm(TM) and Mike Cannula) in a random sequence, and values of partial arterial pressures of oxygen (PaO(2)) were measured. The comfort of these devices was also evaluated.

Results: A significant, oxygen flow dependent increase in PaO(2) was obtained with all devices tested. PaO(2) was significantly higher when the face mask was used [217.5 +/- 19.9 (mean +/- SD) mmHg at 5 L*min(-1)) than when the Mike Cannula was used (177.5 +/- 14.8 mmHg). The face mask was the least comfortable and OxyArm was the most comfortable among the devices tested.

Conclusion: The results of our evaluation suggest that comfort and clinical performance should be considered when using oxygen delivery devices for patients who require oxygen supplementation.