Progression of hypoxaemia in apnoeic children during general anaesthesia: a computational modelling study

Hypoxaemia after apnoea is a common complication of general anaesthesia. Children rapidly develop hypoxaemia as a result of a high ratio of metabolic oxygen consumption to functional residual capacity. Pre-oxygenation and apnoeic oxygenation are commonly practised in an attempt to prevent hypoxaemia, but the extent of their impact is unclear.