Oxygen saturation during transfer from operating room to recovery after anaesthesia

Transcutaneous oxygen saturation of haemoglobin was measured in 101 patients en route from the operating room to the recovery room. Twenty-nine became significantly hypoxaemic during the journey. The incidence of hypoxaemia was not found to relate to age, weight, duration or type of surgery, type of anaesthesia or pre-existing disease. Duration of the interval between cessation of oxygen in the operating room and arrival in recovery room was the only significant finding in patients who became hypoxaemic.