Clinical assessment and measurement of oxygen transport in the critical care setting.

Adequate delivery of oxygen to the tissues is an important factor both in the initial resuscitation of the shocked patient and subsequently in the development of multiple organ failure. The advent of the pulmonary artery catheter has facilitated the calculation of global measurements of oxygen transport at the bedside. Calculated oxygen delivery in fact represents arterial oxygen dispatch rather than actual oxygen delivery to the respiring tissues. Considerable controversy still surrounds the issue of resuscitation of critically ill patients to predetermined goals for oxygen delivery and consumption. More recently interest has arisen in other measures of oxygen transport, in particular regional techniques such as the gastric tonometer.