Pre-hospital portable monitoring of cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) in seven patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Abstract

BackgroundIn recent years, measurement of cerebral regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) has attracted attention during resuscitation. However, serial changes of cerebral rSO2 in pre-hospital settings are unclear. The objective of this study was to clarify serial changes in cerebral rSO2 of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the pre-hospital setting.MethodsWe recently developed a portable rSO2 monitor that is small (170 × 100 × 50 mm in size and 600 g in weight) enough to carry in pre-hospital settings. The sensor is attached to the patient’s forehead by the ELT (Emergency Life-saving Technician), and it monitors rSO2 continuously.ResultsFrom June 2013 through August 2014, serial changes in cerebral rSO2 in seven patients were evaluated. According to the results of the serial changes in rSO2, four patterns of rSO2 change were found, as follows. Type 1: High rSO2 (around about 60 %) type (n = 1). Initial electrocardiogram was ventricular fibrillation and ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) could be diagnosed in pre-hospital setting. Her outcome at discharge was Good Recovery (GR). Type 2: Low rSO2 (around about 45–50 %) type (n = 3). They did not get ROSC even once. Type 3: Gradually decreasing rSO2 type (n = 2): ROSC could be diagnosed in hospital, but not in pre-hospital setting. Their outcomes at discharge were not GR. Type 4: other type (n = 1). In this patient with ROSC when ELT started cerebral rSO2 measurement, cerebral rSO2 was 67.3 % at measurement start, it dropped gradually to 54.5 %, and then rose to 74.3 %. The cerebral oxygenation was impaired due to possible cardiac arrest again, and after that, ROSC led to the recovery of cerebral blood flow.ConclusionWe could measure serial changes in cerebral rSO2 in seven patients with OHCA in the pre-hospital setting. Our data suggest that pre-hospital monitoring of cerebral rSO2 might lead to a new resuscitation strategy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-016-2239-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.