Oxygen Saturation during Sleep in Patients with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Abstract
We hypothesized that significant sleep desaturation might occur in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia whose awake saturations were between 90 and 92%. Supplemental oxygen was continued until the awake saturation on room air was 90% or greater. Sleep saturations were monitored by oximetry sampling for a 3-min period every hour overnight. Significant desaturation was considered to be present if the saturation fell repeatedly below 88%. There were 39 studies performed in room air, and 14 studies in supplemental oxygen. We demonstrated that patients with acceptable awake saturation may desaturate while sleeping. However, only 1 of 25 patients whose saturation in room air was 92% or more repeatedly desaturated during sleep.