An appraisal of intermittent pressure breathing as a method of increasing altitude tolerance
Eckman, M.; Barach, B.
Journal of Aviation Medicine 18(6): 565-576
1947
ISSN/ISBN: 0095-991X PMID: 18899928 Document Number: 10864
1. The rise in oxygen saturation during intermittent pressure breathing with air at 16,000 and 17,000 feet was not accompanied by an increase in mental efficiency, as measured by the Hecht Visual Discrimination Test and the Arithmetical Problem Tests, in the majority of tested subjects. 2. The arterial oxygen saturation in itself is not a dependable criterion of the efficiency of the individual but must be evaluated in the light of the pCO2 and the pH of arterial blood. 3. At 42,300 feet intermittent pressure breathing, from 0 to 28 mm. Hg, did not appear to result in as good a performance as a continuous pressure of 15 mm. Hg, but the individual variation in scores with this moderate degree of anoxia does not permit a definite conclusion. 4. When equivalent mean pressures are compared, intermittent pressure breathing (as obtained by the pneumolator) is less comfortable than continuous pressure breathing. 5. The high incidence of clinical symptoms of alkalosis with intermittent pressure breathing (as obtained with the pneumolator) may be dangerous to the aviator. The appraisal of the data from other laboratories so far reported, as well as our own, points to the conclusion that continuous pressure breathing is more dependable and safer than intermittent pressure breathing.
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