Measurement of Tissue Oxygenation using Near-infrared Spectroscopy in Patients undergoing Hemodialysis

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has recently been applied as a tool to measure regional oxygen saturation (rSO2), a marker of tissue oxygenation, in clinical settings including cardiovascular and brain surgery, neonatal monitoring and prehospital medicine. The NIRS monitoring devices are real-time and noninvasive, and have mainly been used for evaluating cerebral oxygenation in critically ill patients during an operation or intensive care. Thus far, the use of NIRS monitoring in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) including hemodialysis (HD) has been limited; therefore, we investigated rSO2 values in some organs during HD. We monitored rSO2 values using a NIRS device transmitting near-infrared light at 2 wavelengths of attachment. The HD patients were placed in a supine position, with rSO2 measurement sensors attached to the foreheads, the right hypochondrium and the lower legs to evaluate rSO2 in the brain, liver and lower leg muscles, respectively. NIRS monitoring could be a new approach to clarify changes in organ oxygenation during HD or factors affecting tissue oxygenation in CKD patients. This article describes a protocol to measure tissue oxygenation represented by rSO2 as applied in HD patients.