Post-Surgical Infections Can Be Reduced with Oxygen

The January 20th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine highlights a study that found increasing the concentration of oxygen a patient gets during large intestine surgery can cut wound infection by 50%.

According to the authors, 9%-27% of patients who have surgery on their large intestines suffer from wound infections. Previous studies have shown that wound infections can add an average of $12,500 to a patient's hospital bill.

In this study, 250 patients received 30% oxygen and 250 received 80% oxygen during surgery and for 2 hours after surgery. 5.2% of patients who received 80% oxygen developed infections compared to 11.2% of patients who received the usual 30%.

Also, in the 30% group, twelve had to be admitted to the intensive care unit and six of them died; a 50% death rate of those admitted. Only five in the 80% group had to be admitted to intensive care and only one died; a 20% death rate of those admitted.

The authors go on to say "Because the cost of and risk associated with supplemental (oxygen use) are trivial, the provision of supplemental oxygen appears to be a practical method of reducing the incidence of this dangerous and expensive complication."

They went on to say that increasing the oxygen concentrations seemed reasonable and that "it seems likely that it would decrease the risk of infection in patients undergoing other major operations as well."

Oxygen. It's a good thing. Ask for it by name.