Abstract
Introduction: Hypoxemia is a common complication during bronchoscopy under local anesthesia, which still occurs despite O2 supplementation.
Aim: We assessed whether O2 administered directly within the trachea (T) through the bronchoscope leads to better oxygenation than using nasal cannula (NC).
Methods: In 8 normal volunteers, we measured capillary blood PO2 (PcO2) at the ear lobe during bronchoscopy while O2 was administered at an increasing flow rate (breathing room air, O2 2 and 4 l/min) at the level of NC or T. The bronchoscope tip was positioned at mid-trachea. At each flow rate, PcO2 was measured after two minutes. Five minutes of air breathing separated NC from T period and their order was selected at random. The subjects were blinded to the route of O2 administration since compressed air at a similar flow was simultaneously administered through the other access.
Results: At 2 and 4 l/min O2, PcO2 was systematically and significantly higher during T than NC administration (repeated measure ANOVA, p<0.0005).
Conclusion: Tracheal administration of O2 leads to higher levels of PcO2 than the conventional NC route of administration and may become the preferred route provided the bronchoscope has a dedicated O2 channel.
- © 2013 ERS