Several projects in high altitude research in environments with a low oxygen partial pressure
(hypobaric hypoxia) leading to hypoxemia showed, that cerebral perfusion and cerebral
performance could be improved by adding C02 (cabon dioxide).
The investigators hypothesize that adding 5% C02 to 02 (Oxygen) also under normobaric
conditions increases the time until a significant cerebral hyopxia is measured by near
infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) compared to the administration of 95% 02.
lf this hypothesis proves to be true, this approach might be used in situations in which
individuals are prone to cerebral hypoxia. In bariatric surgery, patients that experience an
apnea phase are more prone to (cerebral) hypoxia due to the fact, that they have a higher
body mass index (BMI) leading to a reduced functional residual capacity (FRC), which serves
as the oxygen reserve in the body.