What is the highest setting for oxygen?
The highest on-demand setting a portable oxygen concentrator will go to is a setting of 9. Most have a high setting of 6. A setting of 6 is not equal to a liter flow of 6 liters/minute.
The highest flow oxygen concentrators output oxygen flow at 10 liters per minute.
Rates of 4 liters/minute or greater are considered higher oxygen flow.
A typical oxygen concentrator may deliver oxygen flows of 0.5–5 L·min−1 (low-flow oxygen concentrators), while some models may generate up to 10 L·min−1 (high-flow oxygen concentrators) [9, 10].
Your Oxygen Prescription
An oxygen flow rate of 2 LPM means the patient will have 2 liters of oxygen flowing into their nostrils over a period of 1 minute. Oxygen prescriptions generally run from 1 liter per minute to 10 liters per minute with 70% of those patients being prescribed 2 liters or less.
The average adult, when resting, inhales and exhales about 7 or 8 liters of air per minute. That totals about 11,000 liters of air per day. Inhaled air is about 20-percent oxygen. Exhaled air is about 15-percent oxygen.
Every liter/minute of oxygen increases the percentage of O2 the patient breathes by 3 – 4 %. Room air is 21% O2. So if a patient is on 4 L/min O2 flow, then he or she is breathing air that is about 33 – 37% O2.
The 5-liter oxygen generator is mostly used for: patients with severe diseases, people who need to use ventilators, and people who need to inhale oxygen for a long time every day: people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung fibers, lung resection, lung cancer, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, etc.
HFNC can deliver high FiO2 compared to other oxygen delivery systems, through a higher flow rate, up to 70 L/min, which in most cases exceeds the patient peak inspiratory flow rate (Figure 1).
Breathing in higher oxygen concentrations can cause oxygen toxicity. Oxygen toxicity can affect all the body's organs but most often causes damage to the lungs, eyes, and brain. Most people recover from oxygen toxicity. But it's still a good idea to avoid high oxygen concentrations when possible.
What happens if oxygen machine is set too high?
It keeps organs and tissues working normally. But too high a level of oxygen can harm lung tissues. The tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lung may fill with fluid. Or they may no longer inflate (collapsed lung).
What FiO2 is 3 LPM of supplemental oxygen? At 3 LPM, the approximate FiO2 is 32%.
If you take in more oxygen than your body needs, it can slow your breathing and heart rate to dangerous levels. Too much oxygen can lead to oxygen toxicity or oxygen poisoning. This can happen if you accidentally take in too much supplemental oxygen or use oxygen therapy when you don't need it.
References
- https://www.nationaljewish.org/education-training/patient-education/print-multimedia/materials-printer?nodeId=c0a1fa54-bf43-4748-814f-f81e6fe4865d&partnerId=MS
- https://www.houstonlungdocs.com/oxygen-therapy/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23194-oxygen-therapy
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537116/
- https://boxym.com/blog/the-difference-between-3-liters-and-5-liters-of-household-oxygen-concentrators/
- https://myhealth.ucsd.edu/RelatedItems/3,90904
- https://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/breathe-easy/oxygen-flow-rates-and-percentages/
- https://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/help-center/product-questions/how-high-can-your-oxygen-level-go-on-an-oxygen-concentrator/
- https://www.sharecare.com/health/air-quality/oxygen-person-consume-a-day
- https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/anesthesia/oxygen-toxicity
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6876135/
- https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/your-oxygen-equipment
- https://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com/blog/summary-of-oxygen-concentrator-liter-flows/