Why You Should Not Deliver Oxygen With an Anesthesia Machine

There are a few reasons why you wouldn't want to use an anesthesia machine to deliver oxygen to a patient, says Alison Gottlieb, BS, CVT, VTS (ECC), ICU veterinary nurse and education coordinator for CARES (Center for Animal Referral and Emergency Services) in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

You are always going to be delivering small amounts of gas with that oxygen, Gottleib explains. And with a traumatized or arrested patient, the last thing they need is a respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurologic depressant—even at small amounts. She also mentions that it takes much longer to deliver oxygen with an anesthesia machine. If you simply use an oxygen flow meter with tubing and an Ambu Bag, Gottleib says, oxygen is delivered to the patient much easier, faster, and safer.