Transcutaneous oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and a clinical symptom scale for monitoring the acute asthmatic state in infants and young children.

Measurement of transcutaneous PO2 and PCO2 in addition to a clinical symptom grading system was used to monitor the acute asthmatic attack in children under two years of age. tcPO2 was lowered already at signs of mild obstruction and decreased in parallel with clinical deterioration. tcPCO2 was almost unchanged at mild to moderate obstructive symptoms. With clinical deterioration tcPCO2 rose steadily. An increase of the oxygen concentration to 30-40% in the inspired air increased tcPO2, on the average by 70%, but did not change the tcPCO2, level. Continuous recording of tcPO2 and tcPCO2 as well as the clinical grading system are valuable tools when monitoring severely obstructive infants and young children.