Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Vital signs during complication-free recovery after major surgery: a retrospective analysis
Authors' conclusion
Sustained episodes of severe desaturations, tachycardia and tachypnea were short, but moderate desaturations frequent.
Study context
- Population
- Adults admitted to the general ward after major surgery, without postoperative complications277 complication-free
- Participants
- 600 adults
- Outcome
- Longest consecutive duration of SpO2 < 88%
Methodological detailscontinuous wireless vital sign monitoring, data collection blinded to ward nurses
- Continuous wireless vital sign monitoring
- Data collection blinded to ward nurses
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Longest consecutive duration of SpO2 < 88% (277 complication-free patients)
Longest sustained episode with SpO2 < 88%, median [IQR]
9 min
IQR 2–31 min
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Longest sustained deviation, other vital signs
- SpO2 < 92%, median min [IQR]
- 58[6 −129]
- HR > 110/min, median min [IQR]
- 3 [0-13]
- HR < 50/min, median min [IQR]
- 0 [0-1]
- RF > 24/min, median min [IQR]
- 1 [0-4]
- RF < 11/min, median min [IQR]
- 4 [2-12]
Original publication
Vital signs during complication-free recovery after major surgery: a retrospective analysis. J Clin Monit Comput. Published 11 July 2026. doi:10.
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