Anesthesia · single question
During IV sedation, a patient's oxygen saturation falls to 80%. The most likely cause is:
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Airway obstruction
- A. Correct. Desaturation during sedation is most often due to airway obstruction (e.g., tongue falling back) or respiratory depression. First step: reposition the airway (head-tilt/chin-lift), provide oxygen, and reduce sedation.
- B. Hyperventilation lowers CO2 and does not typically cause hypoxemia.
- C. Hypoglycemia does not directly drop oxygen saturation.
- D. Hypertension does not cause desaturation.