[Oxygen tension in skeletal muscle in patients with reduced O2-carrying capacity (author's transl)]

In 10 patients (age: 31--72 years) oxygen supply of skeletal muscle was measured by pO2-multiwire technique. All patients suffered from chronic renal failure of differing etiologies and from chronic renal anemia. In muscle tissue 1,128 different O2-tensions were registered and the results were expressed as pO2-histograms. Seven of these pO2-histograms show a normal distribution, three are shifted to the left to lower O2-tensions. Therefore the microcirculation in the skeletal muscle of patients with chronic reduced O2-carrying capacity is largely undisturbed. The microcirculation is able to increase with exercise as shown by a shift to the right in the PO2-histogram. The use of the pO2-multiwire electrode is largely devoid of risk to the patient. Important pathological features may be demonstrated.