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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (Expert Forum)
Teenager with low oxygen level
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Teenager with low oxygen level
by michelle31779, Nov 05, 2008 12:04PM
My 15 year old daughter has always been very athletic - last week at basketball practice she started having trouble breathing - went to family physician and her oxygen level goes from 100% to 90% just casually walking around the office -(which means while running and doing strenous exercise it is prob dangerously low) all blood work and ct scans were normal - we are now being referred to a pulmonary specialist - Please give any suggestions if possible - Very Very concerned mother - child has never had any health problems at all!
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish Health, Nov 07, 2008 05:09PM
, Nov 07, 2008 05:09PM
Your concern about the fall in oxygen saturation is warranted but before acting upon it, you and your daughter's doctor should be sure that the oxygen level measurements are accurate. If they are, your assumption of an even greater fall with exertion during basketball is probably correct. In that case a diagnostic evaluation should look to both her lungs and her heart. Were it not for the desaturation, the most common problem with this scenario would be exercise induced asthma and her doctor should still check for that. Another cause of seemingly-sudden shortness of breath would be a clot or clots to the lungs, also known as pulmonary emboli (PE) and that can occur without chest pain and cause both acute shortness of breath and a fall in oxygen saturation. That diagnosis should be looked for and ruled-out, not because it is likely but because it is potentially very serious.
She should also have a careful heart exam. Abnormal heart rhythms can cause shortness of breath but seldom result in a fall in oxygen level. The more common situation would be a common congenital heart defect such as one called an atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale, with shunting of blood from the right side to the left side of the heart, bypassing the lungs.
The pulmonary specialist should be able to sort this out. But even before you see this specialist, your daughter's doctor could have her exercise, listen carefully to her lungs immediately following exercise, do a simple breathing test called spirometry, do a chest x-ray and recheck the accuracy of the oximeter.
In any event it would probably be a good idea for your daughter to avoid strenuous exercise until she is medically cleared to do so.
Good luck.
She should also have a careful heart exam. Abnormal heart rhythms can cause shortness of breath but seldom result in a fall in oxygen level. The more common situation would be a common congenital heart defect such as one called an atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale, with shunting of blood from the right side to the left side of the heart, bypassing the lungs.
The pulmonary specialist should be able to sort this out. But even before you see this specialist, your daughter's doctor could have her exercise, listen carefully to her lungs immediately following exercise, do a simple breathing test called spirometry, do a chest x-ray and recheck the accuracy of the oximeter.
In any event it would probably be a good idea for your daughter to avoid strenuous exercise until she is medically cleared to do so.
Good luck.
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