Continuous pH and Pco(2) monitoring during respiratory failure in childrenwith the Paratrend 7 inserted into the peripheral venous system

Context: The Paratrend monitor provides continuous arterial blood gas monit oring after insertion through a greater than or equal to 20-gauge arterial cannula. Objective: To determine the correlation of arterial blood gas values and th e Paratrend monitor placed through a peripheral intravenous catheter. Design: Prospective, open-label evaluation. Setting: University-based pediatric intensive care unit. Patients: Infants and children with respiratory failure and arterial access . Results: The cohort included 23 infants and children. A total of 100 sample sets (Paratrend/ABG P-CO2 and pH values) were collected. The absolute diff erence between the arterial and Paratrend P-CO2 was 2.9 +/- 1.8 mm Hg (rang e 0 to 9 mm Hg). Linear regression analysis of Paratrend P-CO2 versus arter ial P-CO2 resulted in r = 0.97 and r(2) = 0.9479 (P < .001). Bland-Altman a nalysis of P-CO2 values demonstrated a bias +/- precision of -2.1 +/- 2.7 m m Hg. The absolute difference between arterial and Paratrend pH was 0.04 +/ - 0.02 units (range 0 to 0.15 units). Linear regression analysis of Paratre nd pH versus arterial pH resulted in r = 0.83 and r(2) = 0.7016 (P <.0001). Bland-Altman analysis of pH values revealed a bias +/- precision of 0.03 /- 0.03 units. Conclusions: Inserted through a peripheral intravenous cannula, the Paratre nd monitor can be used to provide an accurate estimation of arterial blood gas values in children with respiratory failure.