Description
This is a study that challenges one of the established practices in general anaesthesia; the administration of 100% oxygen before tracheal extubation. This may be a practice that is routine for you, almost certainly you know others who practice it regularly or at least at some point in your training you were advised to do so as part of safe anaesthetic practice.
That the administration of 100% oxygen, even for a brief period of time, will lead to atelectasis is a proven fact. In this study the authors are looking a specific situation – the pre-extubation phase of general anaesthesia. This is a time where the patient should have a good oxygen reserve to meet unexpected but possible post extubation problems such as laryngospasm, airway obstruction etc.
