Central venous oxygen saturation and emergency intubation – another piece in the puzzle?

A recent multicentre observational study examined the effect of emergency intubation on central venous oxygen saturation (SCVo₂) in critically ill patients. The main finding was that SCVo₂ significantly increases 15 minutes after emergency intubation and institution of mechanical ventilation with 100% oxygen, especially in those patients with pre-intubation SCVo₂ values <70%, regardless of whether these patients suffered from severe sepsis. However, in only one-quarter of this subgroup was the SCVo₂ normalized to ≥70% solely by this intervention. In contrast, in patients with pre-intubation SCVo₂ ≥70%, the SCVo₂ failed to increase after intubation. A rise in SCVo₂ can be expected when whole body oxygen extraction remains unchanged after intubation and ventilation with pure oxygen.