Cerebral and splanchnic oxygenation during automated control of inspired oxygen (FiO ) in preterm infants.

Objectives: Our aim in this study was to assess the effect of the Predictive Intelligent Control of Oxygenation (PRICO ) system on cerebral (rSO C) and splanchnic (rSO S) oxygenation in a cohort of preterm infants with frequent desaturations.

Methods: Twenty infants with gestational age <32 weeks (n = 20) were assigned in random sequence to 12 h of automated or manual adjustment of FiO . Over this period, they were studied continuously by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Results: We found that rSO C [68.0% (60.5%-74.7%) vs. 68.5% (62%-72%); p = .824] and rSO S [27.0% (17.3%-45.7%) vs. 27.0% (15%-53%); p = .878] were similar during automatic and manual control of FiO . Time spent with SpO 90%-95% was higher during the automatic than manual control of FiO , while time spent with SpO <80% or >95% was lower.

Conclusions: Automated control of FiO with PRICO system did not improve brain and splanchnic oxygenation in comparison with manual control in a cohort of preterm infants, but it significantly decreased SpO fluctuations and limited the duration of both hypoxemia and hyperoxemia.