Approaches to hypoxemia during single-lung ventilation.

Modern techniques to isolate the lungs, coupled with accurate continuous non-invasive monitoring, have made single-lung ventilation safe and easy to perform. Most patients maintain an adequate arterial oxygen tension during single-lung ventilation. In order to maximize oxygenation, efforts are directed towards optimizing perfusion and ventilation to the ventilated lung or increasing the oxygen content of blood returning from the collapsed lung.