Arterial oxygen desaturation during awake endotracheal intubation.

Five patients requiring general anesthesia but presenting with compromised airways were successfully intubated by blind awake intubation with the aid of regional anesthesia and the use of appropriate sedation. Arterial blood gases were collected at three intervals: presedation, postsedation, and postintubation. Analysis of the blood gases revealed varying degrees of hypoxemia, hypercarbia, and acidosis following deep sedation before intubation.

Analysis of preoperative laboratory values prior to outpatient dental anesthesia.

A retrospective study of 672 ASA Class I patients undergoing outpatient general anesthesia for oral surgical procedures was performed to evaluate the significance and incidence of abnormal preoperative serum glucose and hematocrit levels. There was an 11% overall incidence of "abnormal" values. Specifically, 6% of the patients had serum glucose levels below 60 g/dl and 5% had hematocritis less than 35 mg/dl.