The Use of Helium as a New Therapeutic Gas.*

Mechanical Ventilation During Pregnancy Using a Helium–Oxygen Mixture in a Patient With Respiratory Failure due to Status Asthmaticus

“…Branch in 1935 who suggested its treatment of upper airway obstructive lesions. 1,2 Since then, helium in combination with oxygen has been used in the treatment of upper airway obstruction of various etiologies including viral and postintubation subglottic edema, laryngeal tumors, and laryngeal edema from inhalation injury. 3 -7 Later applications have demonstrated its efficacy for more distal obstructive processes including bronchospasm-related reactive airway disease in spontaneously and mechanically ventilated patients.…”

A Review on the Real Life Applications of Helium

“…Due to the lower solubility of helium compared with nitrogen, using a mixture of helium and oxygen (Heliox) rather than nitrogen and oxygen decreased the formation of nitrogen bubbles and therefore decompression illness in deep-sea divers (Sayers ans Yant, 1926). In 1934, Barach was first to propose using Heliox as a therapeutic gas (Barach, 1934). Since a helium/oxygen mixture (79/21) has a weight that is one-third compared with air, Barach proposed using this lighter gas to improve the flow of oxygen in patients with upper airway obstruction and asthma exacerbation (Barach, 1935;Barach, 1936).…”

Lack of Benefit of Heliox During Mechanical Ventilation of Subjects With Severe Air-Flow Obstruction

“…1 Although heliox has been used in the setting of severe air-flow obstruction for more than 80 years, 2 its role in the management of patients with asthma and COPD remains controversial. [3][4][5][6] Most previous studies have examined the use of heliox in non-intubated subjects who were breathing spontaneously or with the support of noninvasive ventilation.…”