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Oxygen Homeostasis

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Oxygen Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the organism’s self-regulating ability by which physiological processes

are kept stable and balanced while adjusting to conditions that are favorable for the survival of

the organism. These processes are spontaneous and do not require the organism’s conscious

awareness. In the case of a human body, a variety of states including weight, temperature, sleep,

hunger, thirst, and others have levels set by the biological system. When these state points

change, either by increasing or by decreasing, homeostasis will work to correct them and

maintain the ideal physiological conditions of the body. For example, to regulate temperature,

the human body will sweat when it gets too hot or shiver when it gets too cold.

Oxygen (dioxygen, O2) sustains human life from the fetal stage by enabling metabolism

processes that sufficiently produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Oxygen

deficiency, which is known as hypoxemia is associated with many critical pathological diseases

and as a result, oxygen is used as a therapeutic drug in emergency, anesthesiology, and intensive

care units. The human body regulates oxygen homeostasis through various physiological

processes. When there is oxygen deficiency, the body adjusts its metabolism to utilize the

available amount of oxygen or act to correct and metamorphose oxygen radicals when there is an

overabundance of oxygen.

However, despite the body developing complex processes to overcome hypoxic incidents,

higher than the atmospheric oxygen levels (21% O2), surplus oxygen causes oxygen radicals,

called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can dangerously alter lipids, proteins, and nucleic

acids. These conditions are fatal to patients and if not taken into urgent consideration may lead to

death. Oxygen therapy is a principal clinical treatment because it is easy to apply, economically

affordable to both patients and clinical facilities, lifesaving, and readily available.
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In clinical practice, physicians and nurses consistently take all considerations and caution to

prevent hypoxemia, taking into account that accidental hypoxemia is an aftermath of therapeutic

care. Research has implicated that the abundant application of oxygen causing hyperoxia needs

reconsidering. In 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that, according to

then-current evidence, patients who are anesthetized, cannulated, and put into intermitted

mandatory ventilation for incision, should be given 80% inspiratory O2 levels during and

supporting O2 up to 2 hours after surgery (Verena, 2020).

The World Health Organization based its recommendation on evidence that such high levels

of oxygen can help in reducing surgical site infections that are a regular issue witnessed after

surgery worldwide. However, this recommendation has faced a lot of criticism, as it is not clear

which doses of oxygen are medically safe for the patients. Clinical trials showed that

hyperoxemia might cause fatal effects on morbidity and mortality in various complications,

including respiratory distress syndrome, stroke, and myocardial infarction.