6
Methods for therapeutic administration of nitric oxide depend on the
exact type of ventilator and ventilator circuit to be used and have
not yet been standardised. It is therefore the responsibility of the
user to pay due regard to current medical practice when using the
unit to monitor concentrations of inhaled nitric oxide and nitrogen
dioxide.
NO
2
Production
Nitric oxide in the presence of oxygen undergoes the following
chemical reaction to form nitrogen dioxide, (a more toxic gas than
nitric oxide):
2NO + O
2
→
→→
→ 2NO
2
The rate of conversion is highly dependent on the NO concentration
and this has some important implications for the NO delivery
system.
Firstly, sources of NO with excessively high concentrations should be
avoided.
Secondly, the administered concentration should be kept as low as is
clinically acceptable.
Finally, the administration system should mix the incoming NO
quickly and effectively to rapidly reduce its concentration to the
therapeutic level where NO
2
production will proceed at a much
slower rate.
Environmental Safety
To eliminate environmental pollution with NO and NO
2
the
PrinterNOx is supplied with two NOxSORB chemical scavengers for
removing these gases from the exhaust. The NOxSORB works by
converting NO to NO
2
, which is then chemically absorbed.
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