Critical Care

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Commentary

Searching for non-invasive markers of tissue hypoxia

Juan C Puyana1 and Michael R Pinsky2*

Author Affiliations

1 Associate Professor of Surgery and Critical Care, Director Applied Research IMITs Center, Innovative Medical & Information Technology Center, UPMC, F1265 Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2536, USA

2 Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Bioengineering and Anesthesiology, 606 Scaife Hall 3550 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA

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Critical Care 2007, 11:116 doi:10.1186/cc5691

Published: 23 February 2007

Abstract

Tissue hypoxia is a common end product of circulatory shock and a primary target for resuscitation efforts. In this issue Podbregar and Mozina show that thenar tissue O2 saturation (StO2) and mixed venous O2 saturation (SvO2) co-vary in patients in left ventricular failure, but in patients with sepsis StO2 was higher than SvO2. Although StO2 may co-vary with SvO2 they have different determinants such that after shock StO2 may increase well before SvO2 as a result of increased O2 demands to repay O2 debt incurred during hypoperfusion. Thus, the use of StO2 alone to define the endpoint of resuscitation may be misleading.