Effect of Extracerebral Contamination on Near-infrared Spectroscopy as Revealed during Organ Donation: A Prospective Observational Study in Brain-dead Organ Donors

ConclusionsThe abrupt end of extracerebral contamination, caused by aortic clamping, affected both NIRS monitors to a considerable extent. Both the INVOS and the ForeSight monitor were unable to detect severe cerebral hypoxia or anoxia under conditions of normal extracerebral oxygenation. While both NIRS monitors may guide measures to optimize arterial oxygen supply to the head, they should not be used with the intention to detect isolated cerebral desaturations.Editor ’s PerspectiveWhat We Already Know about This TopicNear-infrared spectroscopy is commonly used as a clinical measure of cerebral perfusion and oxygenationIt is still unclear how much, and in what circumstances, perfusion of extracerebral tissues influences the output of the monitorWhat This Article Tells Us That Is NewBrain-dead patients (who have absent cerebral circulation) show surprisingly high cerebral oxygen saturation, which then drops when the aorta is clamped and extracerebral circulation ceasesThese observations call into question the reliability of near-infrared spectroscopy in detecting isolated cerebral ischemia
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research