Birth defects original article series
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Birth Defects Orig. Artic. Ser. · Jan 1979
Comparative StudyFailure of conventional monitoring to detect apnea resulting in hypoxemia.
In summary, our findings support and confirm the concerns of many investigators that present methods of cardiorespiratory monitoring are inadequate for the detection of many forms of apnea. Nurses underrecord both the frequency and duration of apneic episodes. ⋯ Finally, ineffective breathing patterns such as disorganized breathing, obstructive apnea, and paradoxical breathing are undetectable by thoracic impedance monitoring. We warn against the reliance on heart rate and thoracic impedance monitoring alone for infants with recurrent apnea.
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Birth Defects Orig. Artic. Ser. · Jan 1979
Comparative StudyThe importance of an elevated skin temperature in transcutaneous oxygen tension measurement.
The oxygen tension as measured by a heated transcutaneous polarographic electrode has been shown by a number of workers to correlate closely with the arterial blood oxygen tension as measured by accepted invasive methods. The present paper presents a study of the dependence of the measured skin oxygen tension values on the temperature of the sensor. A graph is included that emphasizes that the skin sensor temperature should be greater than 43 degrees C if the device is to be operated in the platequ region. ⋯ In these studies three gases were used. Oxygen and argon are transported by the blood, but carbon dioxide tends to be generated within the tissues, and its skin tension is less affected by the blood content. Between 36 degrees C and 45 degrees C it is possible to relate changes in the oxygen and argon skin tensions to changes in capillary blood flow.
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The continuous monitoring of the PO2 with double sensors, pre- and post-ductal, is very interesting during the neonatal period; the magnitude of the right-to-left ductal shunting, related to high pulmonary vascular resistance, is well evaluated by the hyperoxemia test. This noninvasive method allows a reliable observation of the pulmonary vascular response to oxygen, alkaline solutions, or tolazoline infusion.
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Birth Defects Orig. Artic. Ser. · Jan 1979
Simultaneous transcutaneous oxygen tension and tissue pH monitoring in sick neonates.
Our studies show that simultaneous tcPO2 and tpH monitoring is feasible and they indicate a highly significant degree of correlation between arterial PO2 and tcPO2 on the one hand and arterial pH and tpH on the other. We also conclude that tissue pH as measured with tpH electrode is a close approximation of arterial pH in sick neonates.