Post-op Oxygen Therapy in Patients With Sleep Apnea May Elevate CO₂

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who are administered oxygen therapy postoperatively may develop elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂), according to researchers.

The study, which used transcutaneous CO₂ to measure CO₂, found that 11.3% of study patients (14/123) had elevated CO₂ in their blood, exceeding 55 mm Hg, “indicating a degree of respiratory depression in postoperative nights, mostly in the first post-op night,” said senior author Frances Chung, MBBS, FRCPC,