PreOxygenation In RSI Anesthesia

Pre-oxygenation with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen has been evaluated in a limited number of studies and seems to be better than traditional preoxygenation with a tight fitting mask. Oxygenation with high-flow nasal cannula in apnea demonstrates that this could be done safely for up to 25 mins with preserved saturation. Based on this, the investigators want to evaluate whether this novel concept of preoxygenation can prolong the time to desaturation in emergency anesthesia while securing a possibly difficult airway. This may reduce the number of hypoxic events during intubation. This novel concept has already been tested in clinical practice in certain cases but not during rapid sequence induction for acute surgery. Objectives and Purpose The general purpose of this project is to compare a new preoxygenation technique based on humidified oxygen in a high-flow nasal cannula with traditional preoxygenation with a tight fitting mask during rapid sequence induction intubation with focus on gas exchange.