Insufflation (Latin:insufflare,lit. 'to blow into') is the act of blowing something (such as a gas, powder, or vapor) into a body cavity.[1] Insufflation has many medical uses, most notably as a route of administration for various drugs.
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Gases are often insufflated into a body cavity to inflate the cavity for more workroom, e.g. duringlaparoscopic surgery. The most common gas used in this manner iscarbon dioxide, because it is non-flammable, colorless, and dissolves readily in blood.
Gases can be insufflated into parts of the body to enhanceradiological imaging[2] or to gain access to areas for visual inspection (e.g. duringcolonoscopy).[3]
Oxygen can be insufflated into the nose bynasal cannulae to assist in respiration.
Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation simulates a cough and assistsairway mucus clearance. It is used with patients with neuromuscular disease and muscle weakness due to central nervous system injury.[4]
Glossopharyngeal insufflation is a breathing technique that consists of gulping boluses of air into the lungs. It is also used bybreath-hold divers to increase their lung volumes.[5]
Positive airway pressure is a mode ofmechanical orartificial ventilation based on insufflation.[citation needed]
Pump inhalers forasthmatics deliver aerosolized drugs into the lungs via the mouth. However, the insufflation by the pump is not adequate for delivery to the lungs, necessitating an active inhalation by the patient.[citation needed]
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Insufflated gases and vapors are used to ventilate and oxygenate patients (oxygen,air,helium), and to induce, assist in or maintaingeneral anaesthesia (nitrous oxide,xenon,volatile anesthetic agents).
Positive airway pressure is a mode ofmechanical orartificial ventilation based on insufflation.
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Nasal insufflation is the most common method ofnasal administration. Other methods are nasal inhalation and nasal instillation. Drugs administered in this way can have a local effect or a systemic effect. The time of onset for systemic drugs delivered via nasal administration is generally only marginally slower than if given intravenously.
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Nasal administration can also be used for treatment ofchildren or patients who are otherwise alarmed or frightened by needles, or whereintravenous (IV) access is unavailable.
In the 18th century, thetobacco smoke enema, an insufflation of tobacco smoke into the rectum, was a common method of reviving drowning victims.[6]
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