Reeder M K, Goldman M D, Loh L, Muir A D, Foëx P, Casey K R, McKenzie P J
Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford.
Br J Anaesth. 1992 Jan;68(1):23-6. doi: 10.1093/bja/68.1.23.
We have studied the severity and duration of nocturnal hypoxaemia before operation and for the first five nights after operation after elective major abdominal vascular surgery. Oxygen supplementation was almost 100% effective in keeping oxygen saturation greater than 90% during the early postoperative period; however, 50% of patients spent prolonged periods with an SpO2 less than 85% during at least one night after operation. The risk of severe hypoxaemia persists well beyond the current prescription of supplementary oxygen in these high risk patients. A significant association exists between the mean preoperative overnight saturation value and the nocturnal saturation observed subsequently in the later postoperative period.
