Cerebral oximetry: the standard monitor of the future?
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Moerman, Anneliese; De Hert, Stefan
- Source
- Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology. Dec 01, 2015 28(6):703-709
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0952-7907
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There is an increasing interest in the application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a monitoring tool in noncardiac surgery. This review summarizes the latest developments and current evidence for the use of NIRS in the noncardiac intraoperative setting. RECENT FINDINGS: Unanticipated intraoperative physiological disturbances and a substantial interpatient variability in the limits of cerebral autoregulation, pose our patients at risk for adverse cerebral outcome, if the brain is not monitored specifically. In addition to a means to monitor the brain, NIRS has been shown to allow an estimate of overall organ oxygenation. Preliminary data suggest a relationship between cerebral desaturation and both neurologic and major organ morbidity. SUMMARY: NIRS offers noninvasive monitoring of cerebral and overall organ oxygenation in a wide range of clinical scenarios. There is an increasing evidence that the optimized cerebral oxygenation is associated with improved outcomes in both neurologic and major organ morbidity in a variety of surgical settings.