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Postoperative Respiratory Complications

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Essentials of Neurosurgical Anesthesia & Critical Care

Abstract

Postoperative respiratory complications may contribute significantly to morbidity, mortality, and the length of hospital stay. The incidence varies from 0.5% to 3% but can be higher in patients with traumatic brain injury.

The range of different respiratory complications is very wide. Their ultimate negative outcome, respiratory failure, is traditionally classified as either hypoxemic or hypercarbic. Both hypoxemia and hypercapnia have particularly grave pathophysiological consequences in neurosurgical patients such as cerebral vasodilatation, increases in ICP, and hypoxic brain damage. Therefore, prompt recognition and treatment of respiratory dysfunction are essential, and preventive measures should be applied when possible.

This chapter gives an overview of postoperative respiratory complications, both general and specific, to neurosurgical procedures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Yulia Obelez & Karen B. Domino

Authors
  1. Yulia Obelez
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  2. Karen B. Domino
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Correspondence to Yulia Obelez .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Ansgar M. Brambrink

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Jeffrey R. Kirsch

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Obelez, Y., Domino, K.B. (2020). Postoperative Respiratory Complications. In: Brambrink, A., Kirsch, J. (eds) Essentials of Neurosurgical Anesthesia & Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17410-1_76

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17410-1_76

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17408-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17410-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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