Brain oxygenation monitoring during neonatal resuscitation of very low birth weight infants.

OBJECTIVE: To explore if regional cerebral tissue oxygen saturation monitoring by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is feasible during neonatal resuscitation of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants after birth.

STUDY DESIGN: Cerebral tissue oxygen saturation was measured by NIRS in 51 VLBW infants (mean gestational age: 27.8 weeks) during the first 10 min after delivery.

RESULT: A regional cerebral tissue oxygen saturation signal was available after a median (interquartile range) age of 52 (44 to 68) s. In three infants the signal was obtained after 10 min of age. After delivery cerebral tissue oxygen saturation rose continuously from 37 (31 to 49) % at 1 minute of age and reached a steady state in the range of 61 to 84% ∼7 min after birth. Percentiles of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation of this cohort of preterm infants are given.

CONCLUSION: Cerebral tissue oxygen saturation monitoring is feasible during neonatal resuscitation of VLBW infants within the first minutes of life.