BACKGROUND It remains unknown whether desaturation profiles during daily living are associated with prognosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Point measurements of resting oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) are not sufficient for assessment of desaturation during activities of daily living. A small number of s...

Apnea is nearly universal among very low birth weight (VLBW) infants, and the associated bradycardia and desaturation may have detrimental consequences. We describe here very long (>60 s) central apnea events (VLAs) with bradycardia and desaturation, discovered using a computerized detection system applied to our database of over 100 infant years of electronic signals. Eighty-six VLAs occurred ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine predictors of oxygen desaturation during submaximal exercise in patients with various lung diseases. DESIGN AND SETTING This retrospective case series used pulmonary function laboratory results from all patients referred to a major tertiary-care center. PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS All patients > or = 35 years old who underwent spirometry, diffusing capacity of th...

Introduction Tracheobronchial foreign body aspiration is a common life-threatening condition in children. There are controversies in the management of this condition, including the type of ventilation during bronchoscopy.  This study aims to compare anesthesia with controlled ventilation versus spontaneous ventilation in rigid bronchoscopy in children with foreign body aspiration.  Materials...

The aim of the present study was to compare the evolution of pulmonary haemodynamics and of arterial blood gases in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with mild-to-moderate hypoxaemia, with or without sleep-related oxygen desaturation. COPD patients with daytime arterial oxygen partial pressure in the range 56-69 mmHg were included prospectively. Sleep-related oxygen desatura...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The clinical impact of nocturnal desaturation on health related quality of life (HRQL) and sleep in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been little studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical impact of nocturnal desaturation in a typical outpatient population with COPD. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 2002 and 2005, consecutive pati...

We observed breathing pattern abnormalities and arterial oxygen desaturation in patients with stable congestive heart failure during overnight polysomnography. To determine whether congestive heart failure was the reason for these abnormalities, we then studied six additional patients before and after treatment of heart failure. Breathing was more abnormal (153 +/- 87 episodes/night) during dec...