Conjunctival oxygen tension measurements for assessment of tissue oxygen tension during pulmonary surgery.

Conjunctival oxygen tension (PcjO(2)) and routine cardiorespiratory parameters were measured in 8 patients during pulmonary surgery. In each patient we found a close relationship between PcjO(2) and arterial blood oxygen tension (PaO2), and for all patients the correlation coefficient was 0.962. The mean values of the ratio between PcjO(2) and PaO2 in each patient were ranging between 0.46 and 0.55. We conclude that PcjO(2) measurements represent a useful and reliable method for evaluation of peripheral oxygenation and perfusion during pulmonary surgery. Furthermore, the method has been found useful for estimation of arterial blood oxygen tension in hemodynamically stable patients during anesthesia.