Apneic Oxygenation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Oxygen (O2) desaturation is one of the risks of intubation, especially in critically ill children with comorbidities, increased O2 consumption and decreased O2 delivery. Desaturation places patients at greater risk for dysrhythmia, hemodynamic instability, hypoxic brain injury, and death. As shown in the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, once oxyhemoglobin (PaO2) saturations drop to ~ 90%, there is an increased risk for precipitous desaturation.

Although many may believe there would be no gas exchange during apnea, alveoli continue to take up oxygen even without diaphragmatic movements or lung expansion. As such, the administration of oxygen during intubation (when a patient is apneic) has not been a standard practice until recently.

Recent studies in adults have shown an increase in the time to desaturation when they are given concurrent oxygen administration during an intubation attempt. This use of oxygen during intubation is referred to as apneic oxygenation.

As a result of this work, apneic oxygenation has become standard practice in many emergency departments, even with pediatric patients. Yet, in pediatric hospital units, including intensive care, this is not the standard practice and no pediatric studies have been published on this subject to date.

In the study unit apneic oxygenation is not standard during intubation. The investigators would like to evaluate its use as it has shown benefits in prior research published on adults. Most patients in the PICU are already on a source of oxygen administration prior to intubation, this source of oxygen is usually removed during the intubation attempt, when the patient is apneic and not breathing on his/her own.