Clinical Application of Transcutaneous Oxygen Monitoring in Newborn Infants

The arterial oxygen tension was measured in 15 sick newborn infants using two different techniques simultaneously: (1) the conventional method using an arterial blood gas analyzer, and (2) transcutaneous oxygen monitoring using a surface electrode. Transcutaneous PO2 values (TcPO2) correlated well with the arterial values (PaO2). The calculated regression line was TcPO2=13.34+0.81 PaO2 with a correlation coefficient of r=0.86 (P＜0.001). Transcutaneous oxygen tension measurements were also performed in 55 healthy newborn infants during normoxia (breathing room air) and hyperoxia (breathing 40% oxygen). A significant rise of TcPO2 was noted even during 40% oxygen inhalation indicating the importance of arterial PO2 monitoring in the newborns receiving oxygen therapy.