Pulse oximeter makes patient more safer

Years of trying to assess oxygenation under the surgical drapes was over—anaesthesia had leapt forward in safety. Although the theorists explained that the monitor lagged behind the problem and was not evidence based, I knew patients were dying regularly from hypoxia (undetected oesophageal intubation, airway obstruction, and hypoventilation from other causes), which could be easily detected with a much improved chance of survival if oximetry was available.

Today, oxymètre de doigt is measured in just about every patient coming into hospital. As clinicians we depend on it, particularly for patients who are acutely ill, as a basic part of routine care on the wards, NICU, ICU, and emergency department. The concept of not monitoring SpO2 during anaesthesia would be negligent, as it has been mandated for many years nationally by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI).

In both series, undetected, unmanaged hypoxia was the killer. No oximetry was available. In UK we manage mortality rates from anaesthesia of around 1:200,000—making anaesthesia at least a staggering 1000 times safer. Imagine if it was you, your partner, or your child facing the other set of odds?