Correlation of venous to arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure difference with other cardiac output indices in patients undergoing intracardiac repair for tetralogy of fallot.

Background: Clearance of tissue carbon dioxide by circulation is measured by venous to arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure difference (AVCO) and is correlated with cardiac output (CO) in critically ill adult patients. This study aimed to correlate AVCO with other CO indices like arteriovenous oxygen saturation difference (AVO), central venous oxygen saturation (ScVO), and serum lactate in pediatric patients undergoing intracardiac repair (ICR) for tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).

Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in 50 patients, of age 5 months to 5 years, undergoing ICR for TOF and analyzed AVO, AVCO, ScVO, and lactate from arterial and venous blood gas pairs obtained at different time intervals from admission to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) (T), at 6 h (T), 12 h (T), 24 h (T), and 48 h (T) postoperatively.