Jugular venous oximetry

Abstract

The measurement of saturation of venous blood as it drains out of brain by sampling it from the jugular bulb provides us with an estimate of cerebral oxygenation, cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolic requirement. Arterio-jugular venous difference of the oxygen content (AVDO2) and jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjVO2) values per se helps clinicians in identifying the impairment of cerebral oxygenation due to various factors thereby prompting implementation of corrective measures and the prevention of secondary injury to the brain due to ischaemia. SjVO2 values are also used for prognostication of patients after traumatic brain injury and in other clinical situations. Sampling and measuring SjVO2 intermittently or continuously using fibreoptic oximetry requires the tip of the catheter to be placed in the jugular bulb, which is a relatively simple bedside procedure. In the review below we have discussed the relevant anatomy, physiology, techniques, clinical applications and pitfalls of performing jugular venous oximetry as a tool for measurement of cerebral oxygenation.

Keywords

• cerebral oxygenation
• jugular bulb
• jugular venous oximetry