Is Peripheral Oxygen Saturation a Reliable Predictor of Upper Airways Air-Flow Limitation?

Dyspnea secondary to acute upper airways airflow limitation (UAAFL) represents a clinical emergency that can be difficult to recognize without a suitable history; even when etiology is known, parameters to assess the severity are unclear and often improperly used. The aim of this study was to assess...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of emergency medicine 2018-11, Vol.55 (5), p.627-634
Main Authors: Malagutti, Nicola, Di Laora, Andrea, Barbetta, Carlo, Groppo, Elisabetta, Tugnoli, Valeria, Sette, Elisabetta, Astolfi, Luigi, Beswick, William, Borin, Michela, Ciorba, Andrea, Pelucchi, Stefano, Stomeo, Francesco, Contoli, Marco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Airway Obstruction - complications
Airway Obstruction - diagnosis
Airway Obstruction - physiopathology
dyspnea
Dyspnea - etiology
Dyspnea - physiopathology
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Male
oximetry
Oxygen - blood
Predictive Value of Tests
upper airflow limitation
upper airway obstruction
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Summary:Dyspnea secondary to acute upper airways airflow limitation (UAAFL) represents a clinical emergency that can be difficult to recognize without a suitable history; even when etiology is known, parameters to assess the severity are unclear and often improperly used. The aim of this study was to assess the role of peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) as a predictor of severity of upper airway obstruction. The authors propose an experimental model of upper airway obstruction by a progressive increase of UAAFL. Ten healthy volunteers randomly underwent ventilation for 6 min with different degrees of UAAFL. SpO2, heart rate, respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume, accessory respiratory muscle activation, and subjective dyspnea indexes were measured. In this model, SpO2 was not reliable as the untimely gravity index of UAAFL. Respiratory rate, visual analogue scale (VAS), and Borg dyspnea scale were statistically correlated with UAAFL (p  0.05); a RR ≤ 7 breaths/min; VAS and Borg scale showed statistically significant parameters changes (p 
ISSN:0736-4679
2352-5029
DOI:10.1016/j.jemermed.2018.07.007