Cerebral oxygen desaturation events during and functional outcomes after prehospital anaesthesia: A prospective pilot study.

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"This prospective observational study was carried out in two helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) units in Finland. Adult patients undergoing prehospital anaesthesia following routine clinical practice were monitored with NIRS to observe the occurrence of cerebral desaturation events (CDEs). Monitoring started before the induction of general anaesthesia and ended at hospital arrival. Subsequently, the study patients were interviewed at 30 days and 1 year to define neurological outcomes and quality of life. The study protocol was approved by the ethical committee of Helsinki University Hospital (HUS/757/2019) and also by the hospital districts medically responsible for the HEMS units participating in the study. The study protocol was published prior to the study on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03948711). Clinical investigation of medical devices for human subjects—Good Clinical Practice (ISO 14155:2011)—was followed in conducting the study. The results are reported following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. "