US Requirements for Medical Grade Oxygen

Medical grade oxygen in the United States must comply with USP, United States Pharmacopoeia, standards. The USP is a listing of drugs licensed for use in the United States. Its rules on oxygen are based on the purity of the oxygen contained in cylinders. Oxygen is used to support people with respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. It is also used to treat short-term conditions such as carbon monoxide poisoning.

Purity

• By USP standards, oxygen given for human medical consumption must be at least 99 percent pure oxygen by volume. Elements such as argon and nitrogen may be left over from the air de-liquefaction process. The USP or FDA can test for the purity of oxygen cylinders used for medical purposes.

Odor

• To comply with USP standards, the oxygen must be completely odorless. The USP will test substances to its standards and upon verification will allow a "USP Verified" stamp to be placed on the product.

Labelling

• The label on the oxygen cylinder must specify whether the oxygen gas was produced by the fractional distillation of air or through other means. In the fractional distillation of air, air is chilled to a liquid state and then gradually warmed so that oxygen, nitrogen and argon can be separately collected.

Uses

• Medical grade oxygen is used to treat illnesses which prohibit an optimal amount of oxygen from entering the bloodstream, a condition called hypoexemia. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder is a disease often treated with oxygen therapy. Your doctor may have you breathe medical-grade oxygen 24 hours a day or only while you sleep. Short-term carbon monoxide poisoning is also treated with oxygen. The oxygen can be delivered through a gas mask or through a nasal cannula. Compressed oxygen systems deliver nearly pure oxygen from a portable cylinder through a nasal cannula. Oxygen concentration systems absorb air from the room and separate the oxygen, also eventually delivering it through a nasal cannula.