Back in the 1950s, nurses would have regular refresher courses with equipment that was common at the time. Take oxygen tents like the one for babies shown in this photo: patients needing oxygen therapy would have received it via an enclosure — a temporary space with high levels of oxygen pumped into it. These were invented in the 1920s, following the discovery around 1900 that oxygen helps with healing and recovery.
While the oxygen masks and ventilators we currently use were invented in the 1940s, they weren’t widely adopted yet, and not everyone who needed higher levels of oxygen needed mechanical assistance breathing. Oxygen tents are still used today, often for treating children, when getting them to keep an oxygen mask on is unrealistic.
Despite its benefits, too much oxygen can cause lung damage. The oxygen (together with being born preterm and requiring mechanical ventilation) can cause a chronic lung disease, called Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, which is the main complication of extreme prematurity and can have life-long consequences. So, to help combat this disease, The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Bernard Thébaud is leading a world-first clinical trial looking at how a cell therapy can prevent this damage in premature babies, who often rely on supplemental oxygen during their first few days or weeks.
