PulmCrit (EMCrit)
PulmCrit – July 17, 2017 - By Josh Farkas
Summary: The Bullet
- It is impossible to estimate the cardiac output merely by looking at the central venous oxygen saturation.
- Even if a Fick calculation is performed which takes other variables into account (e.g. hemoglobin concentration), the central venous oxygen saturation cannot be used to accurately calculate the cardiac output.
- A normal or high central venous oxygen saturation cannot be used to reassure us that the patient has adequate tissue oxygen delivery.
- The central venous oxygen saturation probably cannot contribute useful information for patient evaluation (i.e. information which is more accurate than what could be otherwise surmised based on other clinical parameters)."