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BackgroundRespiratory depression (RD) is a critical complication of general anesthesia. The present study investigated the incidence of postoperative life-threatening respiratory events after laparoscopic colon surgery in patients observed using continuous respiratory rate monitoring [RM; with oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2)] and traditional respiratory monitoring (TM; SpO2 monitoring only). In addition, postoperative incidence rates of RD and desaturation in the RM group were determined.FindingsIn this retrospective observational study, medical records of 214 patients who underwent laparoscopic colon surgery were analyzed. A total of 88 patients with RM were observed and compared with 126 patients with TM. Nineteen patients in the RM group were excluded from the final analyses because of incomplete data. No life-threatening respiratory events were observed in the RM group (0/69), whereas two such events (2/126) occurred in the TM group. Incidence rates of postoperative RD and desaturation within 8 h after surgery were 17.1% (12/69) and 24.3% (17/69), respectively, in the RM group.ConclusionsNo postoperative life-threatening respiratory events were observed in the RM group. Furthermore, the incidence rates of RD and desaturation were noted to be relatively high.

Introduction: The use of both pulse oximetry (SpO 2 ) and respiration rate (RR) monitoring is recommended to prevent the development of respiratory deterioration, particularly after extubation and narcotic analgesic use for pain management. In this study, we investigated the factors contributing to the development of bradypnea in surgical patients receiving fentanyl-based intravenous analgesia after general anesthesia. Methods: This study involved a historical chart review of postoperative patients outside an intensive care unit setting. We divided the patients according to the data collected during the first hour postoperatively, into those developing bradypnea (RR < 8 breaths per min for > 2 min) and those with normal RR under oxygen administration. We defined oxygen desaturation as SpO 2 < 90% for > 10 s. We calculated the effect-site concentrations for fentanyl at the end of surgery and 1 h postoperatively using custom-made software based on chart records. A multivariable analysis was used to determine bradypnea-associated explanatory factors. Results: For the final analysis, we included 258 patients. We detected bradypnea in 125 patients (48%) and oxygen desaturation in 46 patients (18%). We found no difference in the effect-site fentanyl concentrations between patients with and without bradypnea. The logistic regression model revealed that liver dysfunction [odds ratio (OR), 2.918; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.329-6.405], renal dysfunction (OR, 0.349; 95% CI, 0.128-0.955), and smoking history (OR, 0.236; 95% CI, 0.075-0.735) were independently associated with bradypnea. We found similar incidences of oxygen desaturation between the groups. Conclusions: Bradypnea was observed in 48% of postoperative patients receiving fentanyl-based intravenous analgesia under oxygen therapy. According to our results, impaired liver function associated positively, whereas smoking history associated negatively with its development. Renal dysfunction was paradoxically associated with less incidence of bradypnea.