Tissue oxygen tension monitoring: will it fill the void?

The holy grail of circulatory monitoring is an accurate, continuous and relatively noninvasive means of assessing the adequacy of organ perfusion. This could be then advantageously used to direct therapeutic interventions to prevent both under-treatment and over-treatment and thus improve outcomes. However, in view of the heterogeneous response (adaptive or maladaptive) of different organs to various shock states, any monitor of perfusion adequacy cannot reflect every organ system, but should at least detect early deterioration in a 'canary' organ. Tissue oxygen tension reflects the balance between local oxygen supply and demand, and could thus be a potentially useful monitoring modality. This article examines the different technologies available and reviews the current literature regarding its utility as a monitor.

Tissue oxygen tension, measured at a variety of sites in both human and laboratory studies, does appear to be a sensitive indicator of organ perfusion in different shock states. However, responses can vary not only between organs and between different shock states, but also over time. These changes reflect the particular oxygen supply-demand balance present in that tissue bed at that specific time point in the disease process. The response to a dynamic oxygen challenge test provides further information that allows severity to be more readily differentiated.

Monitoring of tissue oxygen tension may offer a potentially useful tool for clinical management though significant validation needs to be first performed to confirm its promise.