High-flow versus low-flow nasal oxygen during procedural sedation for atrial fibrillation ablation
Marloes Homberg, Dominik Linz, Lloyd Brandts, EA Joosten, Wolfgang Buhre, Esther Bouman · 2026
Read High-flow versus low-flow nasal oxygen during procedural sedation for atrial fibrillation ablation by Marloes Homberg, Dominik Linz, Lloyd Brandts, EA Joosten, Wolfgang Buhre, Esther Bouman (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13568400.txt.
Description
Homberg and colleagues reported a trial in 2026, in a letter, comparing high-flow and low-flow nasal oxygen during sedation for atrial fibrillation ablation, a heart rhythm procedure. Deep sedation for this long procedure risks drops in blood oxygen. At Maastricht University Medical Centre, 104 adults were assigned by chance to heated high-flow oxygen or standard low-flow oxygen, and 101 were analysed.
Homberg found the lowest oxygen levels were similar in both groups, and low oxygen events were rare, with a single case in the low-flow group. Time spent below target oxygen was in fact longer with high-flow delivery, and sedation problems such as airway blockage were common in both groups but mostly mild. The trial stopped early as enrolment slowed, which limits its power. The authors conclude high-flow oxygen showed no clear gain in this setting, and airway care matters most.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Marloes Homberg, Dominik Linz, Lloyd Brandts, EA Joosten, Wolfgang Buhre, Esther Bouman |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 8 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |