Background and Goal of Study: 
Oxygen desaturation is one of the commonest complications affecting patients during the immediate postoperative period, occurring in up to 19% of patients upon arrival to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).1 Maintaining adequate saturation has been proven to improve surgical outcome in regards to immune defense, surgical site infection and postoperative nausea and vomiting.2 
In view of this, we decided to adopt oxygen saturation upon arrival to the PACU as a quality indicator in our department.
 
Materials and methods: 
Data on oxygen saturation on arrival to the PACU of all patients were collected from the patients' electronic record on a monthly basis, regardless of whether oxygen supplementation was used during the transfer from the OR. 

Results and discussion: 
During a 12 months' period data from 13552 patients were available (Table 1). Notably, only 2.5% of patients arriving at the PACU were found to have oxygen desaturation (SaO2< 90%). Desaturation frequency was not consistent across all age groups, occurring more frequently in younger children (significant at p< 0.05). 

Conclusions:
 The data shows the incidence of oxygen desaturation upon arrival to the PACU is significantly lower in our department compared to recent published data, suggesting adequate treatment standards among our staff. Although recent studies have shown that supplementary oxygen during transfer to the PACU may be beneficial, in our department it is not mandatory and supplemented only at the anesthesiologists' discretion. Our results suggesting higher incidence of desaturation among young children and infants are consistent with recent studies. 

1. Siddiqui N. et al. J Clin Anesth. 25, 612-617 (2013).
2. Kabon B. et al. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 19, 11-18 (2006).

Post anesthesia care unit oxygen saturation as an anesthesiology department quality indicator