Monitoring of neonatal patients

Neonates become smaller and survive... But how do we improve their quality of life?

Focus today is no longer merely on getting preterm newborns to survive. Focus is on getting them to survive without major handicaps such as brain lesions, cerebral damages and lung damage.

Uncontrolled pO₂ increases in patients in neonatal intensive care can lead to hyperoxia and a risk of retinopathy.

A sudden increase in the pCO₂ value should be observed very carefully as it is a sign of a change in the cardio-respiratory status of the patient or a sign of complication.

Transcutaneous blood gas monitoring is used to avoid any threat in relation to hyperoxia, hypoxia, hypercapnia or hypocapnia.

Combining monitoring information on the O₂ uptake and delivery plus circulatory status (CO₂) allows for early treatment and prevents the risk of more severe complications.