Most patients undergoing general anaesthesia are apnoeic during laryng
oscopy and tracheal intubation. This study determined the lime until t
he onset of desaturation following preoxygenation in apnoeic infants,
children, and adolescents. Fifty ASA physical status I patients, 2 day
s to 18 yr of age, were studied. The patients were stratified into one
of five groups according to age: Group I, 0-6 mo; Group II, 7-23 mo;
Group III, 2-5 yr; Group IV 6-10 yr; and Group V, 11-18 yr. Following
induction of anaesthesia with halothane via mask or intravenous barbit
urates the ability of the anaesthetist to ventilate the lungs via the
mask was ascertained and paralysis was accomplished with vecuronium 0.
1 mg . kg(-1). Manual mask ventilation was maintained with oxygen and
halothane. When end-tidal N-2 decreased below 3% (minimum time two min
utes), the face mask was removed. The time between the removal of the
face mask and a decrease in oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) from 99-100% to
90% was measured. Manual ventilation was then resumed and the trachea
intubated. Desaturation started earlier in infants than in two- to fi
ve-year-old children (96.5 +/- 12.7 sec vs 160.4 +/- 30.7 sec, P < 0.0
001). Children became desaturated faster than adolescents (160.4 +/- 3
0.7 vs 382.4 +/- 79.9 sec, P < 0.0001). The time required to reach 90%
saturation correlated well with age by linear regression analysis (r(
2) = 0.88, P < 0.0001). We conclude that the time to onset of desatura
tion following pre-oxygenation with mask ventilation increases with ag
e in healthy apnoeic children. Adolescents can tolerate apnoea for lon
ger than children, and infants exhibit desaturation faster than childr
en.