Monitoring arterial oxygen saturation in the neonate.

Spontaneously delivered neonates (N = 35) with birth weights appropriate for gestational age (3329 + 427 g) and one minute Apgar score > 8 (8.85 ± 0.37) were monitored; 5' Apgar score was 9.58 ± 0.61 and 10' Apgar score 9.90 ± 0.30, respectively. Umbilical artery pH (7.25 ± 0.09) was measured with a standard blood gas analyzer (Corning 178; Corning Medical, Medfield, MA 02052, USA). SaCh was monitored with a pulse oximeter (N-100; Nellcor; Nellcor Inc., 25495 Whitesell St., Hayward, CA 94545, USA). This noninvasive monitor utilizes spectrophotoelectric techniques to measure SaCh transcutaneously with a sensor that was wrapped around the neonates forefoot. SaCh and heart rate are digitally displayed and accurate over a wide range of SaCh and hemodynamic conditions [3, 5], Values are given as mean ± 1 standard deviation.