[Preoxygenation for anesthesia]

Oxygenation, or rather denitrogenation, prior to apnea during anesthetic induction attempts to replace alveolar nitrogen with oxygen to achieve an intrapulmonary oxygen reserve that will allow apnea to be as prolonged as possible with the least possible desaturation. During apnea, the rate of arterial desaturation depends mainly on the volume of oxygen stored in the lung, on mixed venous oxygen saturation, and on the presence of intrapulmonary shunt. Together, these factors account for the higher rate of desaturation during apnea in children, obese individuals, postoperative patients, and pregnant women. Two approaches to preoxygenation have proven effective to date: ventilation with 100% oxygen at tidal volume for 3 minutes using a well-sealed face mask and the performance of 8 vital capacity maneuvers in 1 minute. The efficacy of preoxygenation can be assessed by expired oxygen fraction or by pulse oximetry. In a healthy adult, both methods described ensure sufficient oxygenation (pulse oximetry 90% to 95%) after a period of apnea lasting between 6 and 10 minutes.