A formula to calculate oxygen uptake during low flow anesthesia based on FIO2 measurement

Monitoring of oxygen uptake during general anesthesia would have several benefits, but unfortunately, this is usually not available in the clinical routine situation. The herein proposed formula to calculate oxygen uptake (.VO2) necessitates only the accurate measurement of FIO2 as well as fresh gas flow and composition. Additionally, this method is not affected by the presence of anesthetic gases. The calculation uses the difference in oxygen content between the delivered fresh gas and the resulting FIO2 in the anesthesia circle system. This gap originates from oxygen uptake (that is mainly caused by metabolic oxygen consumption) and is more pronounced if low fresh gas flows are administered. In order to obtain representative results, calculation of .VO2 should be performed only after achievement of respiratory steady state conditions. Due to its simplicity and wide availability, it has the potential to become a valuable extension in anesthesia monitoring during the performance of routine general anesthesia.