C. Mao et al., A quantitative assessment of how Canadian intensivists believe they utilize oxygen in the intensive care unit, CRIT CARE M, 27(12), 1999, pp. 2806-2811
Objectives: To investigate attitudes and practices regarding oxygen therapy
in intensive care units (ICUs) and to devise quantitative descriptive indi
ces.
Setting: Canadian university-affiliated adult ICUs,
Participants, Fifty-two medical directors of ICUs in 48 institutions,
Intervention: Structured postal questionnaire returned by 48 participants,
Measurements and Main Results: Attitudes, beliefs, and stated practices rel
ating to oxygen use in ICUs were determined. Novel descriptors S-50(min) (m
inutes of oxygen saturation [SaO(2)] acceptable to >50% of respondents), F-
50(max) (maximum FIO2 above which <50% of respondents would increase FIO2),
and F-50(min) (minimum FIO2 below which <50% of respondents would decrease
FIO2) were determined. All respondents believed that oxygen toxicity was a
concern. Twenty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they did not al
ways assess tissue oxygenation in critical cases. A stepwise reduction in a
cceptance of progressive desaturation and increasing duration of hypoxemia
was found. Presented with a stable patient with SaO(2) of 98%, the maximum
level of FIO2 above which respondents stated that they would not increase t
he FIO2 was 0.41 +/- 0.17 (mean +/- SD). For stable patients with SaO(2) of
85%, the minimum FIO2 below which respondents would not reduce FIO2 was 0.
59 +/- 0.23 (mean +/- SD). F-50(max) was 0.8 vs. 0.5 for SaO(2) of 80%-85%
vs. 85%-90%, respectively; F-50(min) was 0.6 vs, 0.21 for SaO(2) of 90%-95%
vs. 95%-100%, respectively,
Conclusions, Considerable variation exists in the attitudes, beliefs, and s
tated practices relating to the management of oxygen therapy in the ICU, Th
ese data are amenable to quantitative description and illustrate the necess
ity for documentation of actual practice and development of support systems
for decisionmaking in this and similar areas.