OBJECTIVE To ascertain whether climbing a mountain over 3000 meters high produces any alterations in ventilation, whether such alterations are modified by acclimatization, and whether they correlate with changes in arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) or the development of acute mountain sickness (AMS). SUBJECTS AND METHODS The following parameters were measured in 8 unacclimatized mountaineers ...

Ventilation and gas exchange during overnight sleep was studied in a group of seven patients with severe interstitial lung disease (mean vital capacity 50%, mean diffusing capacity 46% predicted), to see whether clinically significant oxygen desaturation occurred. Patients with a history of loud snoring or clinically significant airflow obstruction were excluded. Sleep was fragmented in these p...

Recurrent episodes of hypoxemia may affect the growth, cardiac function, neurologic outcome, and survival of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). As oral feeding might stress these infants by compromising pulmonary function even after hospital discharge, we measured oxygen saturation (SaO2) via pulse oximetry before, during the initial 10 minutes of, and immediately after oral feeding...

BACKGROUND Pulse oximetry is routinely used to continuously and noninvasively monitor arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) in critically ill patients. Although pulse oximeter oxygen saturation (SpO2) has been studied in several patient populations, including the critically ill, its accuracy has never been studied in emergency department (ED) patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis res...

PURPOSE To assess and compare peak, multimodal ictal vital signs (iVS) during epileptic seizures (ES) and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). METHODS Between 4/1/2010 and 4/1/2011, 183 adults had video-EEG monitoring, with 96 consecutive patients meeting inclusion criteria. Heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SaO2), and blood pressure (BP) were obtained at baseline and during an ictus. ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Patients with COPD are at risk of experiencing a deterioration in arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) during sleep, which is generally most pronounced during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Increased cholinergic tone has been suggested as a contributing factor to this decrease in SaO2. Therefore, we investigated whether 4-week treatment with ipratropium bromide inhalation solutio...

We studied the influence of lung volumes on apnoea-induced desaturation in ten subjects with sleep apnoea syndrome. Lung volumes were measured by helium dilution in the sitting and supine position and closing volume with the single-breath nitrogen washout test. To characterize the severity of apnoea-induced desaturations, we determined a desaturation curve for each patient. This curve was obtai...

Exracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) may require immersion of the patient in water and extradural blockade for analgesia, which may both affect pulmonary and cardiovascular function and increase the likelihood of hypoxaemia. Twenty-four patients (ASA I-III) with extradural blockade and six healthy subjects were studied by pulse oximetry during immersion. Oxygen saturation (SaO2) tended t...

INTRODUCTION Measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) is frequently performed during exercise testing of patients with COPD to monitor for hypoxemia. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy and precision of pulse oximetry during exercise. We hypothesized that the SpO2 would more closely reflect oxygen saturation as measured by co-oximetry (SaO2) when it was correct...