The influence of central haemodynamics on transcutaneous oxygen (TcpO 2) measurements

Transcutaneous oxygen measurements (TcpO 2) have been shown to be an index of tissue perfusion and it has been suggested that the main haemodynamic variable influencing tissue perfusion is cardiac output, assuming that inspired oxygen remains constant. To investigate this hypothesis we studied 23 consecutive patients in order to identify if changes in cardiac output correlated with similar changes in TcpO 2 measurements. No correlation was found to suggest that cardiac output was the main haemodynamic determinant of TcpO 2 measurements.