DNP Abstract Title: NO DESAT: The Use of Nasal Oxygen During Preoxygenation and Tracheal
Intubation of Obese Patients Undergoing General Anesthesia
Background and Problem Statement: As the prevalence of obesity continues to incline in the
United States, so too will the proportion of surgical patients who are obese. Several physiologic
factors put obese patients at risk during anesthetic induction. After anesthetic induction, obese
patients experience a 50% decrease in their functional residual capacity (FRC) as compared to
only a 20% decrease in FRC seen in non-obese patients, which ultimately decreases the time to
desaturation during apnea. A nasal cannula is the technique of choice when providing apneic
oxygenation. While the patient is awake, oxygen should be delivered via nasal cannula at five
liters per minute during preoxygenation and increased to up to 15 liters per minute when the
patient becomes apneic. After successful intubation, the flow of oxygen should be turned off.
Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this project was to increase the awareness, knowledge, and
employment of the NO DESAT technique in clinical practice. The objectives of the project were
to educate CRNAs and SRNAs about the NO DESAT technique.
Procedures: An invitation to participate in a pre-test, educational PowerPoint, post-test, and posteducational survey was sent through email to all 553 members of the Indiana Association of
Nurse Anesthetists. At the conclusion of the project implementation, 24 respondents were
included in the pre and post-intervention data analysis.
Outcomes: After comparing mean scores on the pre and post-test, there was a statistically
significant difference in pre and post-test results following the educational PowerPoint. The posttest mean scores increased over 35% as compared to the pre-test mean scores.
Conclusions: Enhancing safety during anesthetic induction in the obese patient population is
vital. The NO DESAT technique has shown to be effective in increasing the time to desaturation
and increasing the lowest SpO2 during anesthetic induction. An educational presentation or
PowerPoint presentation such as the one used in this project is an effective method to enhance
provider knowledge and ultimate use of the NO DESAT technique in the clinical setting

Creator

• Sable A. Yrjanson

Mot-clé

• apneic oxygenation

• obesity

• functional residual capacity

• obese

• anesthesia

• NO DESTAT

• NO DESAT technique

• FRC

• obese patients

Date created

• June 24, 2021

Rights statement

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/