Relation of cerebral tissue oxygenation index to central venous oxygen saturation in children

To evaluate the relationship between the cerebral tissue oxygenation index measured by near-infrared spectroscopy and central venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) after corrective surgery of congenital heart defects in children. Prospective observational clinical study. A tertiary neonatal and paediatric intensive care unit for paediatric cardiology. Neonates and children consecutively admitted to the paediatric cardiology intensive care unit after corrective surgery of non-cyanotic congenital heart defects. Forty-three children were studied. Cerebral tissue oxygenation index, measured non-invasively by near-infrared spectroscopy, was compared to SvO2, measured by a catheter placed in the right atrium, and to haemodynamic and respiratory parameters. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and p values were calculated. Simultaneously measured values for SvO2 (62.2±9.8%, 39.8–80.4%) and cerebral tissue oxygenation index (56.7±8.8%, 35.8–71.2%) showed a significant correlation (r=0.52, p