title: Adaptation to oral breathing after anterior nasal packing.
abstract: We report the changes in blood gas tensions in a group of 17 patients during a five-day period of anterior nasal packing after endonasal surgery. Significant hypocapnia was observed in the early postoperative period, which was followed by significant hypoxemia within the first 48 h after surgery, and also shortly after removal of the nasal pack. Analyses of the changes in blood gas tensions suggested disturbances in the ventilation-perfusion ratio. Most subjects required a period of 48 h to adapt to oral breathing.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalogjera
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pegan
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petric
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016857:Hypocapnia / Q000209:etiology; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications*; D009666:Nose / Q000601:surgery; D012119:Respiration