Acid-base parameters and alveolar-arterial oxygen tension gradients in healthy neonatal and postneonatal infants
✍ Scribed by Axel Fenner; Hans-Georg Busse; Marion Junge; Rolf Müller
- Book ID
- 104777006
- Publisher
- Springer
- Year
- 1976
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 278 KB
- Volume
- 122
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0340-6997
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In a randomly selected group of asymptomatic neonatal and postneonatal infants, acid-base parameters and oxygen tension measurements in arterial blood (radial artery) were carried out during air and oxygen breathing. Acid-base results showed a mild, partially compensated metabolic acidosis, indicating adequate pulmonary function. Arterial oxygen tension was in the normal range for this age group. Calculated alveolar oxygen tension levels demonstrated alveolar-arterial gradients of about 30 mm Hg during air breathing and 320 mm Hg during O2 breathing. Volumes of R-L shunts calculated from these gradients, were in the order of magnitude commonly found at this age, i.e., about 20% of right cardiac output. No differences were discernible between infants of appropriate weight for gestational age and small-for-date infants.