Anesthesia implications of waterpipe use
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Non-Intubated Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery
Published on: May 26, 2023
Kimberly L Kesner1, Vijay K Ramaiah, Laura B Hemmer
1Department of Anesthesiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Abstract:
The waterpipe is an ancient Middle Eastern tobacco delivery system, which is also known as hookah, shisha, or narghile, and it is gaining widespread use. Waterpipes are often perceived as less dangerous than cigarettes. The amount of smoke inhaled in a waterpipe session may equal that produced by more than 100 cigarettes with high nicotine, carbon monoxide, and carcinogen intake. A case of significantly elevated intraoperative carboxyhemoglobin level and decreased oxyhemoglobin saturation in a patient with recent waterpipe use is presented.
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