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CORONAVIRUS AND THE SOFA SCORE

The Anesthesia Consultant

The SOFA respiratory score is based on the ratio of: your blood oxygen level (PaO2) divided by the percentage of oxygen that you’re breathing. Right now your blood oxygen level is approximately 90 mm Hg, and the percentage of oxygen in room air that you are breathing is 21%, or 0.21

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AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE WITH ONE FINGER

The Anesthesia Consultant

He was receiving propofol without an anesthesia professional to monitor his airway, breathing, and oxygen saturation. Untreated total airway obstruction can lead to plummeting blood oxygen levels in minutes. Irreversible hypoxic brain damage can occur if there is a lack of oxygen to the brain for as little as 5 minutes.

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WAS JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA’S DEATH FROM OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA?

The Anesthesia Consultant

If this airway obstruction is not remedied, the oxygen saturation will drop below a safe level of 90%. At these low blood oxygen levels, the brain and heart will be deprived of necessary oxygen. A prolonged low blood oxygen level can lead to life threatening cardiac dysrhythmias or a cardiac arrest.

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DO DOCTORS EVER RIDE IN AMBULANCES?

The Anesthesia Consultant

But when surgery or anesthesia leads to an acute event at a site distant from a hospital, the anesthesiologist involved in that patient’s care is responsible for that patient’s safety and for the ongoing care and resuscitation.

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ROBOT ANESTHESIA II

The Anesthesia Consultant

In addition to monitoring the patient’s EEG level of consciousness (via a BIS monitor device called NeuroSENSE), this new device monitors traditional vital signs such as blood oxygen levels, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, to determine how much anesthesia to deliver.

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EXTUBATION IS RISKY BUSINESS. WHY THE CONCLUSION OF GENERAL ANESTHESIA CAN BE A CRITICAL EVENT

The Anesthesia Consultant

The blood oxygen level dropped acutely to life-threatening levels. The anesthesiologist then performed an emergency reintubation to replace the ET tube to again ventilate oxygen into the patient’s lungs to save his life.

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FIVE MINUTES. TO AVOID ANOXIC BRAIN INJURY

The Anesthesia Consultant

Some brain cells start dying within five minutes after the oxygen supply disappears, and brain hypoxia can rapidly cause severe brain damage or death. 1,2) In malpractice cases I’ve consulted on, a five-minute window is an accepted duration for low blood oxygen levels to cause permanent brain damage.