JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS
AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
A&A International Anesthesia Research Society
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a colleague
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Morooka, H.
Right arrow Articles by Sumikawa, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Morooka, H.
Right arrow Articles by Sumikawa, K.
Anesth Analg 2000;91:749-751
© 2000 International Anesthesia Research Society

GENERAL ARTICLES

Hyperbaric Nitrogen Prolongs Breath-Holding Time in Humans

Hiroaki Morooka, MD, Yoshitaka Wakasugi, ME, Hiroko Shimamoto, MD, Osamu Shibata, MD, and Koji Sumikawa, MD

Department of Anesthesiology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki, Japan

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Hiroaki Morooka, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan. Address e-mail to morooka{at}net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp

Either an increase in PaCO2 or a decrease in PaO2, can affect respiratory stimulation through respiratory centers, thus influencing breath-holding time (BHT). This study was designed to determine whether and how hyperbaric air could influence BHT in comparison with hyperbaric oxygen in humans. We studied 36 healthy volunteers in a multiplace hyperbaric chamber. BHT, pulse oximeter, and transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension were measured at 1 and 2.8 atmosphere absolute (ATA) in two groups. Group A (n = 20) breathed air. Group O (n = 16) breathed oxygen with a face mask (5 L/min). BHTs were 108 ± 28 s at 1.0 ATA and 230 ± 71 s at 2.8 ATA in Group A, and 137 ± 48 s at 1.0 ATA and 180 ± 52 s at 2.8 ATA in Group O. Transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension in Group A (59 ± 2 mm Hg) was higher than that in Group O (54 ± 2 mm Hg) at the end of maximal breath-holding at 2.8 ATA. The prolongation of BHT in hyperbaric air is significantly greater than that in hyperbaric oxygen.

Implications: Breath-holding time is significantly prolonged in hyperbaric air than it is in hyperbaric oxygen. The mechanism involves the anesthetic effect of nitrogen suppressing the suffocating feeling during breath-holding.






Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2000 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999 HighWire Press
Copyright © 2000 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.