Apnoeic Oxygenation During Pediatric Tracheal Intubation

The incidence of intraoperative hypoxaemia in children is high and age-dependent. An incidence of over 10 % is reported in8- to 16-year-old children and over50 % in newborns. Severe respiratory critical events occur in paediatric anaesthesia with an incidence of 3.1 %. After the onset of apnoea, hypoxaemia develops more rapidly in children than in adults, which is due to increased oxygen consumption, a lower functional residual capacity and an increased closing capacity. These events can lead to permanent neurological damage or death. One approach to preventing adverse respiratory events due to hypoxaemia during paediatric anaesthesia is the use of apnoeic oxygenation. The principle is to supply oxygen to the airways of anaesthetised patients via a conventional nasal cannula. As less carbon dioxide is produced than oxygen is consumed during apnoea, the supply of oxygen to the upper airways leads to an 'inward diffusion' of oxygen, which prolongs the time until desaturation and hypoxaemia occur. This also extends the 'safe apnoea time' and the anaesthetist has more time to secure the airway. As the incidence and severity of arterial oxygen desaturation is higher in critically ill children compared to healthy children, this vulnerable group in particular could benefit from apnoeic oxygenation. Apnoeic oxygenation is increasingly becoming a standard technique in paediatric anaesthesia, with applications ranging from induction of anaesthesia in the operating theatre and standard airway management to the management of difficult airways. In its current guidelines, the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care recommends the use of apnoeic oxygenation in the airway management of newborns and infants. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of apnoeic oxygenation in terms of time to desaturation and hypoxaemia, as well as the impact of apnoeic oxygenation on intubation success in anaesthetised children.