[Perioperative blood gas analysis in 100 patients in spontaneous respiration treated with ND-YAG laser for endoluminal tracheo-bronchial neoplasms].

Objective: To determine the reliability on spontaneous ventilation of small continuously associated doses of ketamine and propofol during yag-laser therapy for upper airways neoplastic obstructions.
Design: Prospective description of blood gas analysis variation throughout the intervention and in the early postoperative period.
Setting: Operating theatre and postoperative Intensive Care Unit of the National Institute for Cancer Research.
Patients: A hundred consecutive cancer patients referred to our Institution for upper airways tumoral progressive obstruction.
Intervention: Yag-laser firing.
Measurements and Main Results: Pre-intra and postoperative blood gas analysis, BP, HR, Sat O2 have been registered every 10'. Mean intraoperative pCO2 rose to 47.3 mmHg (30-60), but within 2 to 3.20 hrs returned close to preoperative value (38.3 mmHg) allowing early patient discharge.
Conclusions: The i.v. association of 0.7-1.0 mg/kg Ketamine and 1 mg/kg propofol, followed by 5 micrograms/kg/h and 3 mg/kg/h respectively, turned out to be satisfactory for both patients and anaesthetists in terms of anaesthesia and spontaneous breathing maintenance during yag-laser firing for obstructive upper airways cancer patients.