The relationship between physician behaviors and blood gas values in the first hours of life--implications for "standards" of medical care for infants with respiratory distress

American Journal of Perinatology
W MeadowJ Lantos

Abstract

It is standard practice for physicians to use blood gas (BG) evaluations when evaluating neonates with respiratory distress. In this study we addressed two questions: (1) What is the distribution of BG values in a population of infants receiving BG evaluation in the first 4 hours of life; and (2) How does the behavior of physicians correlate with BG values in these infants? We discuss the implications of our findings for claims about "standards" of medical care for newborn infants with respiratory distress. We reviewed medical records for 226 infants with birthweight > 2000 grams who were not intubated at the time of first BG determination. For 199 arterial samples, mean values were pH = 7.31 +/- 0.9 (SD); PaCO2 = 38.5 +/- 11.9 torr; PaO2 = 104 +/- 52 torr; and base excess (BE) = -6.5 +/- 3.8 mEq/L. These values did not differ significantly from previously published data for normal term infants without respiratory distress. However, the a/A ratio (0.45 +/- 0.19) for patients in our distressed population was significantly lower than reported for normal infants (0.65 +/- 0.10). For 186 infants admitted directly to our Newborn Intensive Care Unit, the elapsed time from birth to BG 1 was 1.07 +/- 0.64 hours. This value did not vary...Continue Reading

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