Oxygenation during one-lung ventilation: the effects of inhaled nitric oxide and increasing levels of inspired fraction of oxygen.

We studied whether inhaled nitric oxide (NO) would improve arterial oxygen tension (Pao2) and reduce the occurrence of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (O2Hb) <90% during one-lung ventilation (OLV). One-hundred-fifty-two patients were ventilated either with or without NO (20 ppm) with an inspired fra