Tweetorial: Just to let everyone know, I wear a mask in the OR for 10 hour cases, with EXTRA CO2 pumping into the sterile field to minimize intracardiac air. I have never once felt the need to take off my mask to breathe. (1/n)
Why do we pump CO2? If circulating room air gets in the heart, it’s 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and relatively miniscule amounts of CO2. (2/n)
Oxygen dissolves in blood very well, but is flammable. Nitrogen is poorly soluble in blood. This is where “the bends” come from. (3/n)
emedicinehealth.com/decompression_…
emedicinehealth.com/decompression_…
CO2 is rapidly soluble and quickly metabolized or exhaled by the lungs (or a heart lung machine). Heart surgeons have been doing this for a half century. CO2 is the gas of choice for all surgical insufflation because of this. (4/n)
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Even when blowing into an open ❤️, CO2 doesn’t really build up in the blood.
Of course, if there is ⬆️ concentration of CO2 on both sides of a diffusion membrane, the 💨 won’t diffuse as well. This is why masks are engineered to let 💨 OUT.
CO2<<<#SARS_CoV_2
#covid19
(5/n)
Of course, if there is ⬆️ concentration of CO2 on both sides of a diffusion membrane, the 💨 won’t diffuse as well. This is why masks are engineered to let 💨 OUT.
CO2<<<#SARS_CoV_2
#covid19
(5/n)
In summary, if my entire neurotic, performance driven specialty can wear masks for 10 hours with extra CO2 pumping at 3 L/min 1ft from our faces, and our 🧠 can still stop and start a ❤️ with hours of 🧵 in between, you can wear 1 at the store! (Fin)
#WearAMask @heroesneedmasks
#WearAMask @heroesneedmasks
This #tweetorial inspired by:
@DrJenGunter! Sorry for delayed citation. Please don’t tell reviewer #2.
@DrJenGunter! Sorry for delayed citation. Please don’t tell reviewer #2.
And don’t forget that @DrLizGenovese and @woostermd use co2 to do angiograms. I’m still not sure how that works, tbh.
