Analysis of options for using oxygen-helium mixture in complex therapy and rehabilitation of patients with various diseases of the respiratory organs (review of literature)

Relevance. Acute infectious bacterial and viral pneumonias are among the most common acute infectious diseases. In Russia, more than 1.5 million cases of community-acquired pneumonia are registered annually, which makes this pathology one of the leading causes of death from infectious diseases. The development and implementation of innovative rehabilitation methods during treatment and at the posthospital stage is an urgent task of healthcare aimed at reducing labor losses, the level of disability and economic costs.

Materials and methods. A systematic analysis of domestic and foreign literature for 2000-2024, published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals and indexed in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and RSCI databases, was conducted. The inclusion criteria for publications in the review were: studies of the physiological and pathophysiological aspects of the use of oxygen-helium mixtures (OHM), clinical studies of the effectiveness of OHM in respiratory diseases, data on the epidemiology and contagiousness of bacterial and viral pneumonia.

Objective of the study. Systematization and critical analysis of scientific data on the physiological effects, mechanisms of action and clinical use of oxygen-helium mixtures in the complex therapy and rehabilitation of patients with respiratory diseases, including bacterial and viral pneumonia of varying severity. Development of a conceptual model of complex therapy using heated OHM in inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as an assessment of the effect of this technique on hemodynamics, respiratory function and psychoemotional status of patients.

Results. Based on the analysis of literary data, the key mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of CGS were identified: reduction of airway aerodynamic resistance due to transformation of turbulent flow into laminar flow, improvement of ventilation-perfusion relations, optimization of oxygen transport to tissues and increase in the efficiency of carbon dioxide elimination. Promising areas of clinical application of CGS in various pathologies of the respiratory system were determined: obstructive disorders of the upper and lower respiratory tract, acute respiratory distress syndrome, bronchial asthma, COPD, pneumonia of various etiologies, including those associated with COVID-19. The potential positive effect of CGS on the psychoemotional status of patients was demonstrated, which is especially significant in chronic respiratory diseases.

Conclusions. Oxygen-helium mixtures are a promising method of complex therapy and rehabilitation of patients with respiratory diseases. The unique physical properties of helium provide a multifactorial therapeutic effect, including improved pulmonary ventilation, reduced work of breathing, optimized gas exchange, and prevention of atelectasis. The safety of use, absence of toxic effects and metabolic changes make CGS the method of choice for patients with limited sensitivity to standard pharmacotherapy. The introduction of treatment methods using CGS has high socio-economic significance in the context of increasing incidence of respiratory pathologies.

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