title: The effect of general anaesthesia on breathing patterns in elderly patients during the early post-operative period.
abstract: This study was designed to investigate the incidence of critical events in breathing following light general anesthesia compared with normal sleep during the first 12 h after transfer from the recovery room. There were no significant differences in the incidence of apnoea or desaturation episodes between normal sleep and the post-operative recovery period. There was a close correlation between the pre-operative and post-operative incidence of apnoea (r = 0.93), pre-operative and post-operative desaturation periods (r = 0.81), pre-operative and post-operative mean SpO2 values (r = 0.54) and pre-operative and post-operative minimal SpO2 values (r = 0.90) in all the patients. In the early post-operative period, breathing patterns and oxygenation were similar to those observed during normal night-time sleep in elderly patients undergoing ophthalmological surgery.
authors.affiliation: Klinik und Poliklinik für Anästhesiologie und operative intensivmedizin, Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Loick
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schwann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Radig-Thomas
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Theissen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects; D001049:Apnea / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D017286:Polysomnography; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012119:Respiration
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen