Hypoxia in children following general anaesthesia

The oxygen saturations of 152 children were studied for the first 30 minutes following general anaesthesia with a pulse oximeter. Thirty-six patients (24%) recorded oxygen saturations of less than 90% while breathing room air and in all cases this occurred during the first ten minutes. Intubation (P less than 0.001), use of muscle relaxants (P less than 0.01), intravenous induction (P less than 0.01) and duration of anaesthesia of greater than one hour (P less than 0.02) were all associated with an increased incidence of hypoxaemia. There was no significant correlation with age, weight, procedure, time to wakening, or use of opiates. Clinical signs correlated poorly with hypoxaemia and it is recommended that all children should receive supplementary oxygen during transport to recovery wards and for at least the first ten minutes in recovery following general anaesthesia.