Oxygen saturation and secretion weight after endotracheal suctioning

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Respiratory Therapy
• Nursing Research

Background:

• Endotracheal suctioning is a routine nursing intervention for mechanically-ventilated patients.
• Maintaining adequate oxygenation is crucial during this procedure.
• The use of normal saline instillation is a common practice, but its effects require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effects of endotracheal suctioning with and without normal saline instillation.
• To evaluate the impact on patient oxygen saturation (SaO2) and drained secretions.
• To determine the optimal suctioning technique for mechanically-ventilated patients.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study involving 103 mechanically-ventilated patients.
• Two suctioning techniques were applied: with normal saline instillation and without.
• Measurements included oxygen saturation (SaO2) and the weight of drained secretions.

Main Results:

• Normal saline instillation significantly increased the weight of drained secretions (p<0.001).
• Both techniques led to a decrease in SaO2 post-suctioning, with normal saline instillation showing a prolonged negative effect.
• No statistically significant differences in SaO2 were found when comparing the two techniques directly.

Conclusions:

• Normal saline instillation effectively increases secretion removal but is associated with a prolonged negative impact on patient oxygenation.
• Endotracheal suctioning without saline instillation also decreases SaO2, though less prolonged.
• Neither technique demonstrated superiority over the other in terms of comparative SaO2 values.