A system for monitoring arterial oxygen tension in sick newborn babies.

The measurement of arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) has for some time now been regarded as an essential part of the management of newborn babies receiving oxygen therapy. A system for monitoring arterial oxygen tension by means of a catheter-tip transducer is described. Comparisons of the transducer output with PO2 obtained by blood sample analysis are discussed. Up to the present time the PaO2 of more than sixty sick newborn babies have been monitored using these transducers in the Neonatal Unit at University College Hospital. The results obtained with these transducers in the first eighteen babies are reported in detail and demonstrate the possibility of continuous, reliable measurement of PaO2 under routine clinical conditions.