What should be done if a 14-year-old patient with tachycardia on heliox needs adjustment to increase oxygen delivery?

When managing a 14-year-old patient's oxygen delivery while using heliox, adjusting the heliox mixture to increase oxygen content is an effective strategy. Heliox is a mixture of helium and oxygen, and although it can help reduce respiratory burden due to its low density, the concentration of oxygen within the mixture needs to be sufficient to meet the patient's needs, especially in the case of tachycardia, which may indicate inadequate oxygenation.

By switching to a 60%/40% heliox mixture, the percentage of oxygen is increased compared to standard heliox mixtures (like 80% helium and 20% oxygen), ensuring that the patient's oxygen delivery is enhanced. This adjustment allows the patient to receive a higher fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), which can help ameliorate symptoms related to low oxygen levels, thus addressing the primary concern of increasing oxygen delivery in a patient exhibiting tachycardia.

Increasing the flow rate to 12 L/min does not directly increase the proportion of oxygen delivered; it only alters the flow of gas. Utilizing a heliox-calibrated flow meter is essential for accurately measuring flow rates in heliox therapy but does not address the critical need to enhance oxygen delivery specifically. Discontinuing heliox may result