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British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2002, Vol. 88, No. 1 4-5
© 2002 The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia

Editorial

Editorial II

Oxygen and elective Caesarean section

S.K. Backe and G. Lyons

It was during the 1960s that it became accepted that additional oxygen was required to maintain adequate saturation during general anaesthesia. If there was a seminal contribution to this process it was the publication of Nunn’s serial researches into respiratory function.1 There has never been a similar defining moment for regional anaesthesia, which can also impair respiratory performance. High blocks that involve paralysis of the intercostal muscles will reduce the contribution of the rib cage to breathing. Satisfactory regional block for Caesarean section requires that Aß fibres are blocked to the level of the T5 dermatome,2 and as a consequence there are reductions in maternal peak expiratory flow rate, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume. Despite these changes, maternal oxygen saturation is maintained.3 Although breathing oxygen enriched air increases maternal oxygen saturation, a maternal . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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