Transcutaneous PO₂and cardiovascular observations in the sheep fetus following the reduction of uterine blood flow

Catecholamines in arterial and venous umbilical blood: placental extraction, correlation with fetal hypoxia, and transcutaneous partial oxygen tension

“…The heating element of the electrode obviously is not always capable of maintaining optimal cutaneous blood flow. This assumption receives further support from the fall in tcpO 2 observed after injection of NE into experimental animals, the pO 2 in the arterial blood however remaining uneffected [19,28]. In the present study, proof was furnished that in the human fetus hypoxic release of NE is closely correlated with the tcpO 2 in that NE levels rise with decreasing tcpO 2 (Figs.…”

“…3. Is an increased secretion of catecholamines in the human fetus accompanied by a fall in tcpO2, as has previously been suggested though only on the basis of animal experiments [16,19,28]?…”

“…Investigations performed in animal experiments [6,7,16,17,19] as well as in man [2,3,9,10,18,20,25] suggest that fetal hypoxia is associated with an increase in circulating catecholamines due to sympathoadrenal stimulation. The correlation between catecholamines and cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic changes as determined during intrapartum fetal monitoring by means of cardiotocography (CTG), fetal blood gas analysis, and measurement of the transcutaneous partial oxygen tension (tcpC^) has not yet been exhaustively investigated.…”