ISSN: 2155-6148
+44 1223 790975
Jonathan Eley, Hasan Mohammad, Curry Heather and Stevenson Lynn
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, UK
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Anesth Clin Res
Introduction: Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are preventable complications which result in significant
morbidity and mortality. In low and middle-income countries, 11% of patients who undergo surgery are
infected in the process. Colorectal procedures, due to the location of the surgical site, carry a higher risk for SSIs
than other surgical procedures. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published recommendations to
reduce the risk of SSIs; adult patients undergoing general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation for surgical
procedures should receive an 80% fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) intraoperatively and, if feasible, in the
immediate postoperative period for 2-6 hours to reduce the risk of SSI. A retrospective review was conducted
of elective colorectal patients operated over a period of 20 months (February 2018 to October 2019) at a
tertiary centre hospital to assess the current unit practice with regard to WHO and institutional guidelines
for intraoperative oxygenation. Further analysis was conducted to assess if there was a link demonstrated
between intraoperative oxygenation and the incidence of observed SSIs.
Method: Anesthetic charts were reviewed and the following data subjects collected for 392 patients undergoing
elective open colorectal surgery: (1) Maximum and minimum (post induction) operative saturations (SpO2);
(2) modal frequency operative SpO2; (3) maximum and minimum (post induction) delivered oxygen
fraction (FiO2), (4) modal frequency FiO2, (5) post-operative complications coded as “Wound infection”
and “Dehiscence”, and (6) Baseline demographics: Age, Gender, BMI and ASA. The primary outcome was
the comparison of intra-operative SpO2 and FiO2 values with WHO recommendations and institutional
recommendations. Secondary outcomes were to assess if there was a statistically significant difference in
SpO2 or FiO2 values in groups experiencing a wound infection/dehiscence versus those that did not. Data was
analyzed using Welch’s t-test.
Result: (1) Primary Outcome: Mean intra-operative low/modal/high SpO2 values (%) 96.25/98.03/99.38,
respectively and mean intra-operative low/modal/high FiO2 values (%) 39.63/42.84/52.53, respectively.
(2) Secondary Outcome: 32 cases of wound infection/dehiscence was observed. No statistically significant
difference (defined as p<0.05) was observed between those with complications and those without
complications with regard to low/modal/high SpO2 and FiO2 values. Baseline demographics were found to be
not statistically significant between those with complications and those without with the exception of BMI
(p=0.005). Those in the complication group had a mean BMI of 30.8 versus 27.2 for the non-complication group.
Conclusion: Results indicate a clear concordance with institutional recommendations for intraoperative SpO2
values to be greater than 95%. With regard to intra-operative FiO2 fractions there is a trend toward normoxia
(30-35%) versus hyperoxia (80%). This was a relatively small study population. It is interesting to note
the relationship between minimum intraoperative SpO2 and wound complications (p=0.0634). A further
study with a larger population is warranted to further explore this.