Gastrointestinal tonometry: a monitor of regional dysoxia.

There is sufficient information in the clinical literature to support the prognostic utility of gastric tonometry. Gastric tonometry measures increases in mucosal PCO2, a very useful physiologic signal. This information helps clinicians judge the state of energy balance in a tissue that is exquisitely sensitive to alterations in perfusion and oxygenation. Furthermore, the information obtained with gastric tonometry comes at relatively low cost and with minimal risk to the patient. At present, gastric tonometry has the drawback of being a relatively cumbersome technique that is labor intensive and prone to errors. New technological advances should improve both the ease of use and the timeliness of the information, and minimize measurement errors.