Effect of high fresh gas flow and pattern of breathing on rapid preoxygenation

• Published in: Indian journal of anaesthesia Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 213 - 219
• Main Authors: Mathew, Gincy, Manjuladevi, M, Joachim, Nayanthara, Kothari, Apoorwa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.03.2022; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Anesthesia; apnoea; Continuous positive airway pressure; Gas flow; hypoxia; Medical societies; Original; oxygen; tidal volume; Variance analysis; vital capacity; India; hypoxia; vital capacity; tidal volume; Apnoea; oxygen
• ISSN: 0019-5049; 0976-2817
• DOI: 10.4103/ija.ija_340_21

Background and Aims: Preoxygenation is supplementation of 100% oxygen prior to induction of general anaesthesia to increase the body's oxygen stores. Efficacy of preoxygenation can be increased by optimising fresh gas flow (FGF) rate and pattern of breathing. Methods: Based on pattern of breathing-Tidal Volume Breathing (TVB) or Deep Breathing (DB) and FGF-10 L/min or 15 L/min-100 subjects of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I/II posted for elective surgery were recruited and randomised into four groups: T10 - TVB with 10 L/min; D10 - DB with 10 L/min; T15 - TVB with 15 L/min; and D15 - DB with 15 L/min. A tight-fitting anaesthesia mask along with continuous positive airway pressure of 5 cm of H2O with 20° head-up was used for preoxygenation. The total time taken and the total number of breaths required to achieve end tidal oxygen concentration (EtO2) of 90% were noted. Exhaled tidal volume (Vte), end tidal carbon dioxide, fraction of inspired oxygen, and EtO2 were recorded at each breath. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for inferential statistics and Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) test was used to calculate mean difference in total time and number of breaths amongst the groups. Results: Total time taken was significantly low (P < 0.001) in DB compared to TVB (D10: 70.2 ± 19.91, D15: 68.4 ± 20.27 vs T10: 112.28 ± 47.96, T15: 113.6 ± 48.57 seconds). Number of breaths was significantly high (P < 0.001) in TVB with 22.84 ± 8.73, 23.76 ± 11.64, 10.56 ± 3.69, and 8.32 ± 1.8 in T10, T15, D10 and D15, respectively. Vte was significantly low in TVB (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Rapid preoxygenation can be achieved by DB at high FGF of a minimum of 10 L/min.