Short term variability of oxygen saturation during hemodialysis is a warning parameter for hypotension appearance

Abstract

Acute hypotension is a frequent complication of hemodialysis. Blood oxygenation may play a role in hypotension and hypoxemia may be considered as a surrogate marker of hemodynamic instability. Continuous, non-invasive monitoring of oxygen saturation (SO2) during hemodialysis is now possible, by means of sensors measuring SO2 in blood entering the dialyzer. The aim of the present work was to analyze the short-term variability of SO2 during hemodialysis in sessions with and without hypotension to correlate the SO2 variability to hemodynamic instability. Our preliminary results showed an interesting, yet to be fully understood, role of SO2 in anticipating hypotension onset.