Postoperative hypoxaemia is a common complication influenced by surgical and patient-related risk factors, necessitating close monitoring and targeted oxygen therapy.
What are the perioperative risk factors responsible for the development of postoperative hypoxaemia?
Highlights the importance of identifying surgical and patient-related risk factors to guide monitoring and oxygen therapy for postoperative hypoxaemia.
ypoxaemia in postoperative period is an important complication, and its incidence has been quoted as high as 55% in literature from the 1990s (1), which decreased to 28% by 2012 (2). Hypoxaemia can have potential deleterious effects, such as cardiovascular morbidities (3, 4), mental confusion (5), delirium (6) and postoperative wound complications (7). The high incidence of hypoxaemia in post-anaesthesia care units (PACUs) is the reason behind the routine administration of oxygen in the immediate postoperative period (8). However, hypoxaemic episodes can be seen even with oxygen administration (9). Oxygen therapy might not be needed in about two-thirds of patients immediately after surgery (10), and the routine use of supplemental oxygen might not prevent hypoxaemic episodes (1). Postoperative hypoxaemia may develop due to both surgical factors (e.g. duration of surgery, site of incision etc) as well as patient related risk factors (like obesity and pre-existing respiratory illness) The presence of these factors helps to identify patients prone to postoperative hypoxaemia. Such patients require close monitoring for development of hypoxaemia, as well as oxygen therapy in postoperative period.
Kaushal et al. (Wed,) conducted a review in Postoperative hypoxaemia. Postoperative hypoxaemia is a common complication influenced by surgical and patient-related risk factors, necessitating close monitoring and targeted oxygen therapy.