The validity of the transcutaneous oxygen tension method in children with cardiorespiratory problems.

Transcutaneous oxygen tension (tcPO2) was continuously monitored and compared with simultaneous arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) in 68 patients 1.5 to 23 yr of age (mean age, 7.7 yr) with cardiopulmonary disease. Two groups of patients were studied: (1) Patients during cardiac catheterization (56) in whom the PaO2 ranged from 34 to 98 mmHg (mean, 72.4 +/- 17 mmHg) and (2) patients in the Intensive Care Unit (12) in whom the PaO2 ranged from 54 to 158 mmHg (mean, 106 +/- 37 mmHg). Studies lasted for 30 to 210 min (mean, 80 +/- 33.4 min). The overall relation between tcPO2 and PaO2 in the 68 patients studied was r = 0.96 (p less than 0.001). These results indicated that tcPO2 measurement is a reliable method for assessing low as well as high PaO2 values in children and young adults without gross circulatory impairment.