Aim To establish a normal reference interval for peripheral venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) in stable preterm infants breathing room air.

Method A prospective study of 24 healthy preterm infants(birthweights between 1000 and 1500 g) by a non-invasive method for measuring peripheral SvO2 using near infrared spectroscopy with partial venous occlusion(Ped Res 1996; 39: 1103-6). Measurements were made at least weekly, and the median was taken if multiple measurements were made.

Results The mean peripheral SvO2 was 62.7% (sd 3.65) 95% of the measurements being between 55.4% and 70.0%. The weekly measurements for the first six weeks are shown in the Table. The decrease between week one and week six was significant (p<0.0002).

Table 1 No caption available.
Full size table

ConclusionsThe ability to measure peripheral Svo2 reliably and non-invasively will aid the assessment of tissue oxygenation in preterm infants.