The Effect of Oxygenation on Mortality in Patients With Head Injury

Introduction In this study, we planned to investigate the effect of hyperoxygenation on mortality and morbidity in patients with head trauma who were followed and treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods Head trauma cases (n = 119) that were followed in the mixed ICU of a 50-bed tertiary care center in Istanbul between January 2018 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed for the negative effects of hyperoxia. Age, gender, height/weight, additional diseases, medications used, ICU indication, Glasgow Coma Scale score recorded during ICU follow-up, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, length of hospital/ICU stay, the presence of complications, number of reoperations, length of intubation, and the patient's discharge or death status were evaluated. The patients were divided into three groups according to the highest partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂) value (200 mmHg) in the arterial blood gas (ABG) taken on the first day of admission to the ICU, and ABGs on the day of ICU admission and discharge were compared. Results In comparison, the first arterial oxygen saturation and initial PaO₂ mean values were found to be statistically significantly different. There was a statistically significant difference in mortality and reoperation rates between groups. The mortality was higher in groups 2 and 3, and the rate of reoperation was higher in group 1. Conclusion In our study, mortality was found to be high in groups 2 and 3, which we considered hyperoxic. In this study, we tried to draw attention to the negative effects of common and easily administered oxygen therapy on mortality and morbidity in ICU patients.