THE STUDY OF OXYGENATION AND ASSOCIATED MORTALITY INSURGICAL ICU PATIENTS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate association of mortality with the hypoxemia and hyperoxaemia in surgical patients. The study was a prospective, observational study, conducted on the 167 patients admitted in Surgical ICU over a period of eighteen months (January 2014 - June 2015) in Department of Surgery, Mathura Das Mathur Hospital attached to Dr. S. N. Medical College, Jodhpur. PaO2 values were analysed at admission, at 24 hours, at 48 hours, at 72 hours, at the time of shifting to ward in survivors and before death in nonsurvivors. At admission, PaO2 was normal (80 – 100 mm of Hg) in 19.2% patients, hypoxemia (PaO2<80 mm of Hg) was seen in 63.5% patients and hyperoxaemia (PaO2 >100 mm of Hg) in 17.3%patients. During ICU stay, > 50% patients were hyperoxygenated. In expired patients, before death, hypoxemia was seen in 54.8% patients and hyperoxaemia in 35.5%. Focusing on PaO2, in surgical ICU, mortality was shown to be had a U-shaped relationship with PaO2. Both hypoxemia and hyperoxaemia are independently associated with high mortality in surgical ICU patients. Further studies are needed to find if this association is causal or merely a reflection of differences in severity of illness.