The respiratory mass spectrometer

The high degree of technical perfection of the respiratory mass spectrometer has rendered the instrument feasible for routine monitoring of anesthetized patients. It is proposed that the difference between inspired and expired oxygen tension in mm Hg be equated with whole body oxygen consumption in ml/min/M2 body-surface area at STPD, by the expedient of multiplying tension-differences by a factor of 2. Years of experience have confirmed the value of promptly recognizing sudden drops in this l/E tension difference below 50 mm Hg indicative of metabolic injury from hypovolemia or respiratory depression. Rises in l/E tension-differences were associated with shivering as well as voluntary muscle activity. Tension differences of less than 25 mm Hg (equated with a whole-body O2 consumption of less than 50 ml O2/min/M2) occurred in a patient in the sitting position for posterior fossa exploration without acidosis, hypoxia or hypotension for several hours prior to irreversible cardiac arrest. The value of clinical monitoring by mass spectrometry is especially impressive in open-heart surgery