What Researchers Did
Researchers evaluated the use of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure tissue oxygenation (StO2) on the thumb in nine healthy volunteers breathing air or oxygen under normobaric and hyperbaric conditions.
What They Found
When switching from air to normobaric oxygen, tissue oxygenation (StO2) increased from 83% to 85% (P < 0.01). Similarly, StO2 increased from 85% to 88% (P < 0.001) when switching from air at pressure to hyperbaric oxygen. The changes in StO2 registered by NIRS followed inspired oxygen partial pressure, though values never reached 100%.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
If validated for clinical use, near-infrared spectroscopy could potentially offer a non-invasive way to monitor tissue oxygenation in Canadian patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This could be particularly useful for conditions like decompression sickness, severe infections, or chronic wounds, allowing clinicians to assess treatment response in real-time.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was conducted in Sweden.
Study Limitations
The study was limited by its small sample size of nine healthy volunteers and focused on a single peripheral site, which may not fully represent tissue oxygenation in clinical patient populations.