 Respiratory
therapists and respiratory therapy technicians -- also known as
respiratory care practitioners -- evaluate, treat, and care for patients
with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Practicing under the
direction of a physician, respiratory therapists assume primary
responsibility for all respiratory care therapeutic treatments and
diagnostic procedures, including the supervision of respiratory therapy
technicians. Respiratory therapy technicians follow specific,
well-defined respiratory care procedures under the direction of
respiratory therapists and physicians.
 In clinical practice, many of the daily duties of therapists and
technicians overlap. However, therapists generally have greater
responsibility than technicians. For example, respiratory therapists
consult with physicians and other health care staff to help develop and
modify patient care plans. Respiratory therapists also are more likely
to provide complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment,
such as caring for patients on life support in intensive-care units of
hospitals. The term respiratory therapist
includes both respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy
technicians.
 Respiratory
therapists evaluate and treat all types of patients, ranging from
premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to elderly people
whose lungs are diseased. Respiratory therapists provide temporary
relief to patients with chronic asthma or emphysema, and they give
emergency care to patients who are victims of a heart attack, stroke,
drowning, or shock.
To evaluate patients, respiratory therapists interview them, perform
limited physical examinations, and conduct diagnostic tests. For
example, respiratory therapists test a patient's breathing capacity and
determine the concentration of oxygen and other gases in a patient's
blood. They also measure a patient's pH, which indicates the acidity or
alkalinity of the blood. To evaluate a patient's lung capacity,
respiratory therapists have the patient breathe into an instrument that
measures the volume and flow of oxygen during inhalation and exhalation.
By comparing the reading with the norm for the patient's age, height,
weight, and sex, respiratory therapists can provide information that
helps determine whether the patient has any lung deficiencies. To
analyze oxygen, carbon dioxide, and blood pH levels, therapists draw an
arterial blood sample, place it in a blood gas analyzer, and relay the
results to a physician, who then makes treatment decisions.
 To
treat patients, respiratory therapists use oxygen or oxygen mixtures,
chest physiotherapy, and aerosol medications -- liquid medications
suspended in a gas that forms a mist which is inhaled. They teach
patients how to inhale the aerosol properly to ensure its effectiveness.
When a patient has difficulty getting enough oxygen into his or her
blood, therapists increase the patient's concentration of oxygen by
placing an oxygen mask or nasal cannula on the patient and setting the
oxygen flow at the level prescribed by a physician. Therapists also
connect patients who cannot breathe on their own to ventilators that
deliver pressurized oxygen into the lungs. The therapists insert a tube
into the patient's trachea, or windpipe; connect the tube to the
ventilator; and set the rate, volume, and oxygen concentration of the
oxygen mixture entering the patient's lungs.
Therapists perform regular assessments of patients and equipment. If a
patient appears to be having difficulty breathing or if the oxygen,
carbon dioxide, or pH level of the blood is abnormal, therapists change
the ventilator setting according to the doctor's orders or check the
equipment for mechanical problems.
 Respiratory
therapists perform chest physiotherapy on patients to remove mucus from
their lungs and make it easier for them to breathe. Therapists place
patients in positions that help drain mucus, and then vibrate the
patients' rib cages, often by tapping on the chest, and tell the
patients to cough. Chest physiotherapy may be needed after surgery, for
example, because anesthesia depresses respiration. As a result,
physiotherapy may be prescribed to help get the patient's lungs back to
normal and to prevent congestion. Chest physiotherapy also helps
patients suffering from lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, that
cause mucus to collect in the lungs.
Therapists who work in home care teach patients and their families to
use ventilators and other life-support systems. In addition, these
therapists visit patients in their homes to inspect and clean equipment,
evaluate the home environment, and ensure that patients have sufficient
knowledge of their diseases and the proper use of their medications and
equipment. Therapists also make emergency visits if equipment problems
arise.
 In
some hospitals, therapists perform tasks that fall outside their
traditional role. Therapists are becoming involved in areas such as
pulmonary rehabilitation, smoking cessation counseling, disease
prevention, case management, and polysomnography -- the diagnosis of
breathing disorders during sleep, such as apnea. Respiratory therapists
also increasingly treat critical care patients, either as part of
surface and air transport teams or as part of rapid-response teams in
hospitals.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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