Hypoxemia with air breathing periods in U.S. NAVY Treatment Table 6.

Air breathing is used to lessen hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) toxicity. Hypoxemia could occur during hyperbaric air breathing in patients with lung dysfunction, although this has not been previously reported. We report two cases of hypoxemia during air breathing with two patients treated with the US Navy Table 6. Patient 1 was an 11-year-old male with cerebral gas embolism (during cardiac transplantation), patient 2 was a 66-year-old female with cerebral gas embolism from a central venous catheter accident. Both were mechanically ventilated. We monitored arterial blood gas (ABG) during therapy. In both patients, ABG measurements showed hypoxia during the first air breathing period at 1.9 atm abs (192.5 kPa). If patients require > or = 40% inspired oxygen before HBO2 therapy, oxygenation monitoring is advisable during air breathing periods, especially at lower chamber pressures (< or = 2.0 atm abs).