A Single-Center Observational Clinical Study on Factors Associated with Regional Cerebral Oxygen Saturation in Full-Term Newborn Infants During Birth Transition

BACKGROUND: Hypoxic hypoperfusion injury in the brain is a cause of potential injury and even death in the growth period of newborns. Therefore, monitoring regional cerebral oxygen saturation (CrSO₂) during this period is particularly important. This observational clinical study from a single center aimed to investigate the factors associated with CrSO₂ in full-term newborn infants during birth transition.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: We enrolled 84 full-term newborn infants delivered by cesarean section. We started the stopwatch with the obstetrician clamping the newborns’ umbilical cords and recorded the values of newborns’ CrSO₂, pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂), pulse rate (PR), end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO₂), and respiratory rate (RR) at 2 min, 5 min, and 10 min. We weighed the newborns before they left the operating room and used statistical methods to compare the correlation between each observation factor.
RESULTS: Pearson correlation coefficients between CrSO₂ and SpO₂ measured at 2 min, 5 min, and 10 min were 0.491, 0.599, and 0.587, respectively (P<0.01). Pearson correlation coefficients between CrSO₂ and EtCO₂ measured at 2 min, 5 min, and 10 min were -0.304, -0.443, and -0.243, respectively (P<0.05). Regardless of a newborn’s weight, PR, or RR, the correlation between any of those factors and the value of CrSO₂ measured at the corresponding time point had no significance (P>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a correlation between CrSO₂ and SpO₂ and CrSO₂ and EtCO₂ during birth transition of full-term infants delivered by elective cesarean section, but CrSO₂ had no significant correlation with neonatal weight, PR, or RR.

Keywords: Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain, Infant, Newborn, Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared, Statistics as Topic