title: Managing hypoxia and hypercapnia.
abstract: The main objective when treating hypoxia (a deficiency of oxygen in the tissues) and hypercapnia (a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood) is to give sufficient oxygen to ensure that the patient is safe and his or her condition does not deteriorate. However, while giving too little oxygen can result in hypoxia, which can result in death, excessive oxygen therapy can also be dangerous for some patients.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Education and Training Centre, Aintree.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lynes
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riches
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006935:Hypercapnia / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*