CONTINUOUS ARTERIAL GAS MONITORING - INITIAL EXPERIENCE WITH THE PARATREND-7 IN CHILDREN

Objective. To describe clinical usage of the Paratrend 7 continuous ar terial blood gas monitor in children. Design. Children older than 24 m onths of age who required significant ventilatory intervention were el igible for sensor placement. Interventions. The sensor was placed via the arterial catheter to measure pH, PCO2, PO2, and temperature. The s imultaneous arterial blood gas value was recorded along with the senso r reading. Results. The sensor functioned for as long as seven days an d provided the clinicians with data on the patient's respiratory statu s. The statistical validity of the device when compared to the arteria l blood gas showed that the bias/precision for pH was 0.006/0.024, for PCO2 -0.78/4.68 mmHg, and for PO2 1.9%/17.1% (mmHg). Conclusions. Thi s report demonstrates actual clinical use of continuous blood gas moni toring in children. The information obtained is a major asset to the m anagement of critically ill children in the intensive care unit.