Effective Therapy Requires Integrated efforts of Nursing Team and Therapists

Abstract

The phenomenal growth of inhalation therapy places great demands on all those responsible for patient care. A U. S. National Health Survey for the year ending in June 1958 showed that approximately 24 million persons were hospitalized in that time due to respiratory illnesses. The use of inhalation therapy in the treatment of acute and chronic diseases of the lungs is expanding rapidly. Research has advanced this therapy at such a pace that it has been difficult for the medical and nursing professions to keep abreast of it. There has been a particularly rapid growth of therapy in the past 10 years. Approximately 175,000,000 cu. ft. of oxygen is sold each month to hospitals in the United States, mainly for administration to patients. This is the equivalent of approximately 717,000 large cylinders ("K" or "G" size.) Twenty-five years ago, the use was approximately 5,000,000 cu. ft. or 20,000 large cylinders per month. Important advances in the use of oxygen and inhalation therapy are being reported monthly in the medical journals. Advances have been made in the use of oxygen in the medical complications of pregnancy, in treating diseases of the aged and in rehabilitation of the aged, to mention only a few.