Continuous central venous saturation monitoring in critically ill patients

Central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) is a useful therapeutic target in septic shock. ScvO2 is an indirect index of the balance between oxygen supply and demand, thus in critically ill patients a fall in ScvO2 reflects a decrease in tissue oxygenation. ScvO2 depends on arterial oxygen saturation, oxygen consumption, cardiac output and hemoglobin. The aim of the study was to evaluate events of tissue oxygenation impairment that could be unrecognized by simple blood gas analysis, by continuously monitoring ScvO2 and to establish whether peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and central venous pressure (CVP) could predict LowScvO2 events.