SUMMARY A simple, rapid, and accurate method for measuring oxygen consumption in infants is described. Expired gas is entrained in a stream of air drawn through a gently applied face mask. Oxygen consumption is derived from (1) gas flow rate, measured with a flowmeter, and (2) the fall in oxygen concentration of the gas mixture, measured with a paramagnetic analyser. A measurement can be made at the bedside within 2 minutes without disturbing the infant. In 17 mature 2-day-old neonates mean oxygen consumption was 6 52 ml/kg per min, SD 0 90, similar to that previously reported using less simple methods.
Measurement of oxygen consumption in infants Sir, The paper by Evans et al. (Archives, 1978, 53, 330) describing a simple method for measuring oxygen consumption contains inaccuracies I should like to correct. The assertion that methods using a lower flow rate 'almost certainly result in CO2 retention' is wrong. The method described by me (Smales, 1978) uses a flow rate
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.