Fraction of inspired oxygen
Fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) is the fraction or percentage of oxygen in the space being measured. Medical patients experiencing difficulty breathing are provided with oxygen-enriched air, which means a higher-than-atmospheric FiO2. Natural air includes 20.9% oxygen, which is equivalent to FiO2 of 0.209. Oxygen-enriched air has a higher FiO2 than 0.21, up to 1.00, which means 100% oxygen. FiO2 is typically maintained below 0.5 even with mechanical ventilation, to avoid oxygen toxicity. If a patient is wearing a nasal cannula or a simple face mask, each additional liter of oxygen adds about 4% to their FiO2 (for example, a patient with a nasal cannula with 2L of oxygen attached would have an FIO2 of 21% + 8% =29%).