Tissue pO2 and Transcutaneous pO2 as Guidelines in Experimental and Clinical Drug Evaluation

Abstract

Tissue pO2 measurements on skeletal muscle surface both in patients and in ani mals in a model of occlusive disease re vealed local tissue hypoxia that, until now, had not been detected with any other method. This kind of local tissue hypoxia is interpreted as a disturbance of local micro- flow distribution in the presence of un changed regional blood flow rate. In response to buflomedil infusion, tissue p02 histograms improved without any change in regional blood flow or distal blood pressure. In comparison to healthy volunteers, transcutaneous pO2 measurements in pa tients allowed establishment of tcpO2 pro files along the lower extremity which were in agreement with angiographic localization of vessel occlusion. In a preliminary study, buflomedil infusion (3 mg/kg) over 30 min utes caused a significant increase in tcpO2 in 5 patients in the absence of any signifi cant change of segmental blood pressure. It is concluded that both tissue p02 and tcpO2 measurements are able to provide unique information about local changes of the microcirculation in occlusive vessel dis ease.