BJA Advance Access published online on June 20, 2008
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/aen183
An unusual explanation for low oxygen saturation
1 Department of Anaesthesia, St Jamess University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK
2 Department of Anaesthesia, The General Infirmary at Leeds, Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK
* Corresponding author. E-mail: s.p.holbrook{at}leeds.ac.uk, simonholbrook{at}btinternet.com
Pulse oximeters are now commonplace in modern medical practice, but we still need to be aware of their limitations. We present here a case of a 62-yr-old gentleman who underwent general anaesthesia for a recurrent parietal meningioma. He had received multiple general anaesthetics in the past. Persistent low pulse oximetry readings in the perioperative period, without any suggestion of respiratory compromise, led us to investigate him further and to discover a new, but benign, haemoglobinopathy.
Keywords: blood, haemoglobin; complications, oxygen desaturation; equipment, pulse oximeters; measurement techniques, oximeters
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