Author(s)

Frédéric Duprez, Maria Barile, Thierry Bonus, Grégory Cuvelier, Sandra Ollieuz, Shahram Mashayekhi, Alexandre Legrand

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
Intensive Care Unit, Centre Hospitalier Epicura, Hornu, Belgium.
Laboratory of Motion, Haute Ecole Condorcet, Tournai, Belgium.

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.

Medical Device Accuracy, Oxygen Therapy, Flowmeter

Duprez, F. , Barile, M. , Bonus, T. , Cuvelier, G. , Ollieuz, S. , Mashayekhi, S. and Legrand, A. (2014) Accuracy of Medical Oxygen Flowmeters: A Multicentric Field Study. Health, 6, 1978-1983. doi: 10.4236/health.2014.615232.