title: Arterial desaturation during induction in healthy adults: should preoxygenation be a routine?
abstract: We studied the haemoglobin saturation of one hundred healthy patients equally divided into two groups. Group 1 patients received three minutes of preoxygenation prior to thiopentone induction followed by inhalational anaesthetics. Group 2 patients breathed room air prior to induction. None of the patients in Group 1 showed any arterial oxygen desaturation during the five minutes of the induction period, whereas 21 patients in Group 2 showed definite desaturation (P less than 0.005), of which fifteen patients had a saturation of 90% or less (P less than 0.005) and six had a saturation of 85% or less. Since those were healthy patients and the anaesthetics were given by experienced anaesthetists, we concluded that some form of preoxygenation should be used in all patients receiving general anaesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kung
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Au
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation; D004737:Enflurane; D005260:Female; D006221:Halothane; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010092:Oximetry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D013874:Thiopental / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D004737:Enflurane; D013874:Thiopental; D010100:Oxygen; D006221:Halothane