Monaldi archives for chest disease = Archivio Monaldi per le malattie del torace / Fondazione clinica del lavoro, IRCCS [and] Istituto di clinica tisiologica e malattie apparato respiratorio, Università di Napoli, Secondo ateneo
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Monaldi Arch Chest Dis · Sep 1994
ReviewAtelectasis formation and gas exchange impairment during anaesthesia.
Anaesthesia is accompanied by impaired oxygenation of the blood, and sometimes hypoxaemia may develop despite an increased oxygen fraction of the inspired gas. The major cause of this derangement is shunt, an effect of prompt atelectasis formation in dependent lung regions. An additional cause is ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatch, possibly produced by intermittent airway closure. The magnitude of shunt and size of atelectasis are independent of the age of the patient, whereas V/Q mismatch increases with age, explaining the age dependent impairment of oxygenation.