APA Dictionary of Psychology

the administration of oxygen either short term for acute hypoxemia or cardiac or respiratory arrest or long term for lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It may also be used nocturnally, in tandem with continuous positive airway pressure, to treat obstructive sleep apnea. The therapy usually is delivered with high-flow oxygen devices, which provide pure oxygen and are used in hospitals, or with low-flow oxygen devices, which mix pure oxygen and room air and are better suited for home use. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is delivered in a specialized chamber in which air pressure is increased by 250% to allow more oxygen to be delivered throughout the body; its use is being studied in the treatment of traumatic brain injury, postconcussion syndrome, and stroke.