Final answer:
Hypoxic patients have a decrease in tissue oxygenation, commonly due to high altitudes, lung diseases, cardiovascular issues, or drug-induced hypoventilation. Administering 100 percent oxygen can treat certain types of hypoxia, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, by allowing oxygen to replace carbon monoxide in the blood.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hypoxic patients experience a decrease in the levels of oxygen reaching their tissues, a condition known as hypoxia. There are several typical causes of hypoxic hypoxia, including high altitudes where there's a lower partial pressure of oxygen, lung diseases like pneumonia that impair pulmonary gas exchange, and cardiovascular conditions such as congestive heart failure which may restrict blood flow and thus oxygen delivery to body tissues. Additionally, hypoventilation due to the use of drugs such as morphine, barbiturates, or ethanol can also lead to hypoxia by reducing breathing and the blood's oxygen levels.
Treatments for hypoxia often involve increasing the oxygen supply, such as with the administration of 100 percent oxygen in cases like carbon monoxide poisoning, where it helps dissociate carbon monoxide from hemoglobin to allow for oxygen binding and transport. It is important to note that carbon dioxide administration would not be effective in treating hypoxia as it does not increase the oxygen levels necessary for tissue survival.