Brain tissue oxygenation index measured by near infrared spatially resolved spectroscopy agreed with jugular bulb oxygen saturation in normal pediatric brain: a pilot study

Objectives This observational, prospective pediatric human study was performed to determine the agreement between brain tissue oxygenation indices (TOI) measured by near infrared spatially resolved spectroscopy and jugular bulb oxygen saturation values (SjO 2 ). Methods Five cardiac patients without neurological impairment who were admitted into the critical care unit after open-heart surgery with jugular bulb venous catheters were enrolled. Their mean age was 8.6 months and mean body weight was 6.7 kg. Simultaneous measurements of brain TOI using NIR0-300 (Hamamatsu Photonics, Hamamatsu City, Japan) and SjO 2 values from blood samples were recorded. Results The TOI range was 59±9% and the SjO 2 range was 58±17%. The correlation coefficient R was 0.64 ( p =0.11; n =14). Bland–Altman plotting revealed a bias of −3.4%, and precision of 7.2% ( n =14). Intra-class correlation reliability analysis showed kappa of 0.55. Conclusion Statistically, brain TOI was in reasonable agreement with SjO 2 in pediatric patients with normal brain within the measurement range from 50 to 70%.