Hypoxic Drive
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DesertMedic66
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This describes it pretty well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoxic_drive
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That explains the issue reasonably well. Unfortunately there are some people that haven't read the more recent stuff.
ThadeusJ
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Here's a more detailed explanation. Beware that it may be hard to absorb because 1) patients don't actually stop breathing as in they are awake and alert but simply don't have a trigger to breathe but 2) there is a risk that their CO2 will still rise (so do we really care what the mechanism is). I have experienced 2 patients in my career where increased SpO2 levels caused confusion and decreased LOC. Lowering the SpO2 levels brought them back to a normal status (but were still acutely ill).
Unfortunately far too many practitioners withhold all oxygen and keep SpO2 levels in the 70's if the patient had a smoking history 20 years ago. This practice is far below acceptable patient care. Also note for those who believe that withholding oxygen is acceptable practice: why are you not concerned about oxygen administration when you give bronchodilators via neb? What is the delivered FiO2 and how are you not accountable if you truly believe that oxygen kills? You can't have it both ways.
At the end of the day, most recent research guides the practitioner to maintain minimal acceptable SpO2 levels (88-92%) during treatment. This will treat the patient without killing them. And also note that for the very sick, you may require a non-rebreather and/or CPAP just to get the SpO2 levels to 85%. So its not the amount of oxygen being delivered which you should be focused on but the amount of oxygen in the blood which is your goal.
Unfortunately far too many practitioners withhold all oxygen and keep SpO2 levels in the 70's if the patient had a smoking history 20 years ago. This practice is far below acceptable patient care. Also note for those who believe that withholding oxygen is acceptable practice: why are you not concerned about oxygen administration when you give bronchodilators via neb? What is the delivered FiO2 and how are you not accountable if you truly believe that oxygen kills? You can't have it both ways.
At the end of the day, most recent research guides the practitioner to maintain minimal acceptable SpO2 levels (88-92%) during treatment. This will treat the patient without killing them. And also note that for the very sick, you may require a non-rebreather and/or CPAP just to get the SpO2 levels to 85%. So its not the amount of oxygen being delivered which you should be focused on but the amount of oxygen in the blood which is your goal.