Intraoperative tissue oximetry in the human gastrointestinal tract

Tissue oxygen tension was measured using a modified Clark oxygen electrode in the gastrointestinal tract of 33 patients undergoing laparotomy. The electrode, which incorporated a thermistor, had a linear response to oxygen tension (r=0.995, p 2 ) of 124.9±31.9 mm Hg. Tissue oxygen tension measurements (mm Hg, mean ±SD) were recorded from the serosal surfaces of the stomach (46.3±15.4), midileum (36±9.7), terminal ileum (33.5±11.5), cecum (30.3±7.4), transverse colon (38.5±10), descending colon (29.3±11), and sigmoid colon (39.2±7.7) and tended to increase with increasing PaO 2 (r=0.70, p