[Use of nitrous oxide as a component of general anesthesia monitored by pulse oximetry during one-lung ventilation].

Pulse oximetry was employed to monitor the arterial blood oxygenation during surgery of 300 patients with pulmonary carcinomas. N2O2 anesthesia in 2:1 ratio was administered to all the patients. Change for one-lung ventilation did not lead to changes of SpO2 in 59% of the patients, whereas in 41% of the patients this value reduced below 93%. Change of the gas ratio to 1:1 in 35% of the cases was found sufficient to elevate the SpO2 value to the norm and only in 6% of the patients N2O2 had to be excluded from the anesthesia scheme for the period of one-lung ventilation and artificial ventilation with pure oxygen had to be resorted to.