Abstract
Blood gas and acid base values in cord blood are often not predictive of neonatal cardiopulmonary adaptation. We employed oxygen-cardiorespirography to measure beat-to-beat heart rate, respiratory rate, thoracic impedence and transcutaneous Po2 in 337 newborns. 16 infants had severe cardiorespiratory problems in the first hours (11 respiratory distress, 5 congenital heart disease); two of these had a cord blood pH below 7.15, and one showed a low Po2. In all 16 infants oxygen-cardiorespirography was abnormal in at least one of the parameters. In clinically abnormal infants the tcPo2 was low, and frequently a decrease of long-term variability of the heart rate was seen. In 10 of 16 infants, a pathological pattern was recognized by oxygen-cardiorespirography before clinical symptoms appeared.
A hyperoxia test adds additional information. Within 2 minutes following hyperoxia, a distinction can be made between healthy newborns, respiratory problems and congenital heart disease. Shunting through an open ductus arteriosus can be shown by a difference in tcPo2 measured simultaneously from the thorax and abdomen.
Oxygen-cardiorespirography allows continuous multiparametric data collection and permits the early recognition of important trends in neonatal cardiopulmonary adaptation.
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Schachinger, H., Sinclair, J. 1419 QUICK EVALUATION OF CARDIOPULMONARY ADAPTATION OF NEWBORNS BY OXYGEN-CARDIORESPIROGRAPHY. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 679 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01448
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01448