THE USE OF HELIUM IN THE TREATMENT OF ASTHMA AND OBSTRUCTIVE LESIONS IN THE LARYNX AND TRACHEA
Authors: Alvan L. Barach
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1935)

Article1 December 1935THE USE OF HELIUM IN THE TREATMENT OF ASTHMA AND OBSTRUCTIVE LESIONS IN THE LARYNX AND TRACHEAALVAN L. BARACH, M.D., F.A.C.P.ALVAN L. BARACH, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-9-6-739 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptINTRODUCTIONThe proposal of helium as a new therapeutic gas was based on the conception that its decreased specific gravity in relation to nitrogen would make a helium-oxygen mixture easier to breathe than a comparable nitrogen-oxygen mixture, such as occurs in air.1The molecular weight of helium being 4, and that of nitrogen 28, the substitution of 80 per cent helium for 80 per cent nitrogen, with the oxygen concentration 20 per cent, would provide a respirable gas mixture which would have 33 per cent of the density of air (table 1). Utilizing the physical formula F equals MA, where...Bibliography1. BARACH AL: Use of helium as new therapeutic gas, Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., 1934, xxxii, 462-464. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. BARACH AL: Treatment of heart failure by continuous oxygen therapy, Anesth. and Analg., 1935, xiv, 79-88. Google Scholar3. JANNSENLOCKYER : Quoted from National Encyclopedia, 1932, v, 222, P. F. Collier and Son. Google Scholar4. RAMSAY W: The gases of the atmosphere, 3rd Ed., 1905, Macmillan and Co., London. Google Scholar5. COOKE C: U. S. Patent Office, 1923, Patent No. 1,473,337. Google Scholar6. SAYERSYANT RRWP: Value of helium-oxygen atmosphere in diving and caisson operations, Anesth. and Analg., 1926, v, 127-138. Google Scholar7. HERSHEY JW: Physiological effects of oxygen atmospheres diluted by nitrogen, Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., 1929, xxxii, 51. CrossrefGoogle Scholar8. BARACH AL: Rare gases not essential to life, Science, 1934, lxxx, 593. CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. FORRER A: Research on respiration of dry overheated air, Arch. d. sc. biol., 1934, xx, 30. Google Scholar10. BARACH AL: New oxygen tent, Jr. Am. Med. Assoc., 1926, lxxxvii, 1213-1214. Importance of ventilation in oxygen tent and oxygen chamber therapy, N. Y. State Jr. Med., 1931, xxxi, 1263-1266. CrossrefGoogle Scholar11. DAVIESHALDANEPRIESTLEY HWJSJG: Response to respiratory resistance, Jr. Physiol., 1919, liii, 60. CrossrefGoogle Scholar12. BARACHRICHARDSMILHORATLEVY ALDWATRL: Effects of oxygen therapy on patients with congestive heart failure, Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., 1929-30, xxvii, 308. BARACH, A. L., and RICHARDS, D. W., JR.: Effects of treatment with oxygen in cardiac failure, Arch. Int. Med., 1931, xlviii, 325-347. RICHARDS, D. W., JR., and BARACH, A. L.: Effects of oxygen treatment over long periods of time in patients with pulmonary fibrosis, Am. Rev. Tuberc., 1932, xxvi, 253-260. RICHARDS, D. W., and BARACH, A. L.: Oxygen therapy in pulmonary tuberculosis, Am. Rev. Tuberc., 1932, xxvi, 241. RICHARDS, D. W., JR., and BARACH, A. L.: Prolonged residence in high oxygen atmospheres, Quart. Jr. Med., 1934, iii, 437-466. Google Scholar13. MEAKINSDAVIES JCHW: Respiratory function in disease, 1925, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, page 196. Google Scholar14. HARRISON TR: Failure of the circulation, 1935, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, page 129. Google Scholar15. BLUMGARTLEVINEBERLIN HLSADD: Congestive heart failure and angina pectoris, Arch. Int. Med., 1933, li, 866-877. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: New York, N. Y.*Read at the Philadelphia meeting of the American College of Physicians, April 30, 1935.From the Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City.†The author wishes to acknowledge assistance rendered to him by the United States Public Health Service, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, United States Navy; The Linde Air Products Company, and the Helium Company, and to express his appreciation for their aid.‡With the technical assistance of Morris Eckman, B. S. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byHeliox simulations for initial management of congenital laryngotracheal stenosisRespiratory ComplicationsApport de l’hélium dans la réhabilitation respiratoire de patients BPCO sévèresHeated oxygen-helium mixtures. 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