[Conjunctival oxygen pressure in patients with acute cerebral infarct]

Conjunctival oxygen tension and arterial blood gases were measured in 20 patients with acute ischaemic stroke and compared to values obtained in a reference group. The conjunctival capillary bed is perfused by the ophthalmic artery and, thus, reflects the oxygen delivery to the areas supplied by the internal carotid artery. Patients with acute ischaemic stroke showed especially on the ipsilateral side, i.e. the side of the infarction, and to a lesser extent on the other side a lowered conjunctival oxygen tension and a reduced ratio of conjunctival to arterial oxygen tension. These findings indicate disturbances of the blood fluidity, of the cerebrovascular autoregulation and of brain microperfusion. Monitoring of conjunctival oxygen tension is simple and safe. This method allows the assessment of oxygen tension in a tissue bed vascularized by the internal carotid artery. It appears to yield an objective criterion of the effectiveness of therapeutic procedures aiming at an improvement of cerebral perfusion and oxygen supply in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.