%0 Journal Article
%T Accuracy of Medical Oxygen Flowmeters: A Multicentric Field Study
%A Fr¨¦d¨¦ric Duprez
%A Maria Barile
%A Thierry Bonus
%A Gr¨¦gory Cuvelier
%A Sandra Ollieuz
%A Shahram Mashayekhi
%A Alexandre Legrand
%J Health
%P 1978-1983
%@ 1949-5005
%D 2014
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/health.2014.615232
%X The accuracy of 476 oxygen flowmeters was investigated using a thermal mass flowmeter in eight hospitals in France and Belgium. Different oxygen flow rates (2 to 15 l/min) were evaluated at the patient¡¯s bed. When the sample was considered as a whole, the accuracy of delivered flow was acceptable but precision was poor. The variability of the delivered flow between devices was greater when a low flow rate was required. Compensated-pressure oxygen flowmeters for these low rates were more accurate than their non-compensated counterparts. This study emphasizes the need to individually adapt the oxygen flow rate each time a patient has to move from one flowmeter to another.
%K Medical Device Accuracy
%K Oxygen Therapy
%K Flowmeter
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=48743