[Staged oxygen therapy for the prevention of oxidative stress in children with acute respiratory insufficiency].

The oxidant-antioxidant balance was investigated in 34 children with acute respiratory insufficiency before and during the oxygenotherapy. According to our results, the oxidant system activity was high among patients at exacerbation due to the antioxidant-protection inhibition. The processes of free-radical oxidization sharply intensify themselves during the oxygenotherapy with high FiO2. The activity of the antioxidant-protection enzymes recover partially and the oxidant-system parameters go down, which enabled us to suggest that the described technique is the safest oxygen-based method.