Some Causes of Oxygen Desaturation
Mechanism | Examples |
|---|---|
Disorders of ventilation | |
Decreased ventilatory drive | Decreased mental status (eg, caused by head injury, oversedation, sepsis, shock, or stroke) |
Obstructed ventilation | Bronchospasm Dislodgement of endotracheal tube Mucus plugging of the airways or endotracheal tube |
Severe pain in the chest, abdomen, or both | Thoracic or abdominal surgery |
Disorders of oxygenation | |
Pulmonary causes | Acute respiratory distress syndrome Atelectasis, pneumonia, pneumothorax, pulmonary embolus, pulmonary contusion, aspiration pneumonitis |
Nonpulmonary causes | Iatrogenic fluid overload Heart failure (eg, due to exacerbation of underlying disease or to acute myocardial infarction) |
In these topics