BLOOD oxygen in doctors climbing Everest plunged to the lowest levels ever recorded in a healthy human. This might mean some people in intensive care can tolerate lower oxygen levels than previously thought.
The four doctors, who had spent weeks acclimatising to the thin air, above sea level, 448 metres below the Everest summit. The average blood oxygen level was 3.28 kilopascals, with the lowest at 2.55 kPa (, vol 360, p 140).
The normal value is 12 to 14 kPa, while values below 8 kPa usually indicate critical illness. 鈥淵ou sometimes see levels this low in people who are dying because they鈥檝e had a cardiac arrest,鈥� says team member of University College London. 鈥淲e were able to talk, walk, take the blood gas and think clearly with these levels.鈥�
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鈥淵ou can see oxygen levels this low in people dying because they鈥檝e had a cardiac arrest鈥�
So some patients in intensive care might be able to tolerate lower oxygen levels, reducing the use of a ventilator which can damage the lungs. And people preparing to undergo surgery could perhaps be trained to cope better with low oxygen levels.
