Pediatric Postoperative Pulse Oximetry Monitoring During Transport to the Postanesthesia Care Unit Reduces Frequency of Hypoxemia.

Background: The standard use of pulse oximetry during the transport of postoperative patients from the operating room (OR) to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) is not routinely practiced. A study was conducted to determine if the frequency of hypoxemia on admission to the PACU decreased after implementation of routine use of transport pulse oximeters for postoperative patients being transferred to the PACU.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, which was conducted at an academic pediatric hospital, the primary outcome measure was the frequency of hypoxemic events on arrival to the PACU.

Results: A total of 506 patients in the preintervention phase and 597 in the postintervention phase met the inclusion criteria. Six hypoxemic events on arrival to the PACU were identified in preintervention phase versus zero in the postintervention period, p = 0.009. Use of oxygen monitors during transport from the OR to the PACU increased from 0% to 100%, p < 0.0001, in the postintervention phase. The median duration of unmonitored time during transport decreased from 272 seconds to 13 seconds, p < 0.0001. Of the 605 patients who met the inclusion criteria for sustainment audits-conducted 18 months after the postimplementation evaluation-99.8% were transported to the PACU with a pulse oximeter, and there were zero reported hypoxemic patients on PACU admission.

Conclusion: The routine use of portable oxygen monitoring when transferring patients from the OR to the PACU is a low-cost, noninvasive safety measure that should be considered at any institution performing pediatric general anesthesia.