Constant Flow vs Pulse

Constant Flow vs Pulse

It seems to me most people forget to take into account breaths per minute when talking about oxygen settings. For example on my home concentrator set on 2 liters (constant flow) I will usually maintain 97 to 99 SpO2 at rest. I can use my Inogen G5 set on 3 (pulse) and still maintain 97 to 99 SpO2 at rest, and good days I can do that set on 2 (pluse).

If you have 2 liters of constant flow and take 20 breaths per minute you are only getting 1/3 of the 2 liters. So 1/3 is 66 ml of the 2 liters.

If you have the Inogen G5 set on 6 and take 20 breaths per minute, it is 1.26 liters. So, 3 times 1.26 would be the equivalent to about 3 3/4 liters of constant flow. If you have the Inogen set on 3 (pulse) it’s almost equivalent to 2 liters (constant flow).

See Inogen Chart