British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol 81, Issue 3 338-342, Copyright © 1998 by The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia
T. M. Cook, A. R. Wolf and AJW. Henderson
We report changes in arterial blood-gas tensions for up to 5 min of apnoeic
oxygenation in 26 anaesthetized paediatric patients (21 children, five
infants). Changes in oxygen and carbon dioxide tension were greatest in the
first minute of apnoeic oxygenation. In subsequent minutes, rates of change
in gas tension were approximately constant. The rate of decline in oxygen
tension (31 (95% confidence interval (CI) 20.1-42.2) mm Hg min-1) was more
than three times that reported in studies in adults. The rate of increase
in carbon dioxide tension (4.2 (95% CI 3.7-4.7) mm Hg min-1) was similar to
that reported in adults. After successful preoxygenation, oxygen tension
remained greater than 290 mm Hg in all children (age > 1 yr) throughout
the study. This was not the case in infants. We found no correlation
between changes in blood-gas tensions and age or weight of patients. The
small number of infants studied showed rapid decreases in oxygen tension
which if sustained would be expected to limit the safe duration of apnoeic
oxygenation, unlike adults where apnoeic oxygenation is limited by
hypercapnia. Extrapolation of our results suggests that when preoxygenation
has been successful, apnoeic oxygenation could continue safely in children
for at least 10 min. Infants may become hypoxic after only 2 min.
CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS
Changes in blood-gas tensions during apnoeic oxygenation in paediatric patients
Sir Humphrey Davy Department of Anaesthesia, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol BS2 8HW; Royal Bristol Hospital for Sick Children, Bristol BS2 8BJ
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