Facts Matter: Masks vs Oxygen Levels

[Mergie Master]

OSHA requires a minimum 19.5% oxygen level in a work space.

Testing Oxygen Levels Under A Mask w an OSHA Air Quality Monitor

[Chuck the Duck Slayer]

Don't believe everything you see on the interweb.

[Tigerbdog]

I love these well shot videos that show the instruments and immediate surroundings at all times.

How do surgeons survive marathon procedures without suffering significant damage?

[JBtflo]

Surgeons must be falling out all the time.

[WoodieSC]

What he doesn’t show is exactly where the end of that tube is under the mask. It could be very easily blocked by the corner of his mouth, etc.

Inconclusive by any stretch of sampling methodology.

[bitesize]

Medical malpractice is 3rd leading COD in the States- maybe it’s because the docs can’t breathe!

[WoodieSC]

Medical malpractice is 3rd leading COD in the States- maybe it’s because the docs can’t breathe!

Better watch yourself or Mobetter will accuse you of dreaming up a conspiracy between the mask manufacturers, the funeral homes and the embalming chemical companies, or some such combination...

[Phone Man]

They voting on mandatory masks in sumter today. Im not wearing one. Ill have a jury trial

[flockbuster]

Yep fuckem.

[Mergie Master]

Surgeons must be falling out all the time.

Funny you should mention that...

Preliminary report on surgical mask induced deoxygenation during major surgery

http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/neuro/v19n2/3.pdf

Soon after the introduction of surgical masks by Mikulicz in 1897, their usage in the operating theatre became a standard practice. Although there appears to be a shift from a patient-protective standpoint to a healthcare worker-protective standpoint in recent years, it is generally accepted that operating theatre staff has to wear surgical masks and change it partway through long procedures (4 hr or more).

Surgeons in the operating room frequently experience physical discomfort, fatigue, and possibly even deterioration of surgical judgment and performance. Although considerable information exists about the effects of ambient environment on both mental and physical performance, the final "personal" environment for the surgeon beneath the surgical mask is often very inadequately conditioned despite the universal air-conditioning standard of operating theaters. Thus they either wear masks improperly or refrain from using them altogether. As it is known that heat and moisture trapping occur beneath surgical masks, it seems reasonable that some of the exhaled CO2 may also be trapped beneath them, inducing a decrease in blood oxygenation.

“Normal blood O2 saturation” is usually defined as a fractional saturation of 90 to 97.5%, which corresponds to an arterial oxygen partial pressure of 13.3 to 13.7 kPa, if there are no other hemoglobin species, apart from oxy- and reduced hemoglobin. A pulse oximeter can detect the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin quickly, in an accurate, and reliable way. Pulse oximeters combine oximetry and plethysmography to measure arterial oxygen saturation, noninvasively. According to Lambert Beer Law, oxygenated and reduced hemoglobin absorb red and infrared light differently. Oxyhemoglobin absorbs more infrared light, while reduced hemoglobin absorbs more red light. The ratio of absorptions at the red and infrared wavelengths is analyzed by oximetry to give the oxygen saturation of arterial pulsations.

The primary focus of this study was to measure the surgeons’ oxygenation status while they were engaged in their daily routine activities of major operations.

Continued -- > http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/neuro/v19n2/3.pdf