Correlation of Renal Tissue Oxygenation to Venous, Arterial, and Capillary Blood Gas Oxygen Saturation in Preterm Neonates

OBJECTIVE

 The aim of the study is to assess the correlation of renal regional tissue saturation of oxygen (RrSO2) measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in preterm neonates to venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) obtained from umbilical venous catheters (UVCs), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) obtained from umbilical artery catheters (UACs), and capillary oxygen saturation (ScO2) from capillary heel blood draws.

STUDY DESIGN

 A secondary analysis of a prospective RrSO2 monitoring study in preterm neonates born <32 weeks gestational age. Neonates with any blood gas obtained during RrSO2 monitoring were included. RrSO2 was compared with simultaneous O2 saturation using non-parametric Mann Whitney U-test and Spearman correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

 In 35 neonates, 25 UVC, 151 UAC, and 68 heel capillary specimens were obtained. RrSO2 was lower than the median SvO2 (58.8 vs. 78.9, p <0.01), SaO2 (51.0 vs. 93.2, p <0.01), and ScO2 (62.2 vs. 94.25, p <0.01). RrSO2 values correlated to both SaO2 and ScO2 (r = 0.32; p <0.01, r = 0.26; p = 0.03), but not SvO2 (r = 0.07; p = 0.74).

CONCLUSION

 In this secondary analysis, RrSO2 was consistently lower than blood gas O2 saturations and correlated with SaO2 and ScO2 but not SvO2. Lack of a correlation to SvO2 could be due to the small UVC sample size limiting statistical power. Future studies should prospectively evaluate if RrSO2 truly primarily reflects venous oxygenation in preterm neonates.

KEY POINTS

· Renal oxygenation correlates with arterial and capillary oxygen saturation.. · Renal oxygenation did not correlate with venous oxygenation from umbilical venous catheters.. · Studies are needed to determine if renal oxygenation primarily reflects venous or arterial oxygen..

Gender analysis of Journal of Perinatology authorship during COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

To examine authorship gender distributions before and during COVID-19 in the Journal of Perinatology.

STUDY DESIGN

We collected data from the Journal of Perinatology website. The author gender was determined using Genderize.io or a systematic internet search. Our primary outcome was the difference between the number of published articles authored by women during the pandemic period (March 2020-May 2021, period two), compared with the preceding 15-month period (period one). We analyzed the data using chi-square tests.

RESULTS

Publications increased from period one to two by 8.9%. There were slightly more female than male first (62%) and overall (53%) authors, but fewer last authors (43%) for the combined time periods. Female authorship distribution was not different between periods.

CONCLUSIONS

Though publications increased overall, authorship gender distribution did not change significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women authors remain underrepresented overall and specifically as last author, considering the majority of neonatologists are women.