Clinical evaluation of continuous venous oxygen saturation monitoring during anesthesia

Clinical evaluation of continuous SvO2 monitoring during anesthesia was made in 14 surgical patients utilizing a fiberoptic reflectometry system combined with a pulmonary artery flow-directed balloon catheter. On-line values for SvO2 by the system were closely related to those obtained in vitro from a Radiometer ABL-300. There was a good correlation between changes of in vivo SvO2 and corresponding changes in cardiac index. We also observed that there was a significant correlation between SvO2 and oxygen extraction ratio. Our data indicate that continuous SvO2 monitoring during anesthesia can provide on-line information not only about hemodynamic state but also on oxygen transport.