Oxygen Pressure in Ischemic Muscle Tissue of Patients With Chronic Occlusive Arterial Diseases

Abstract

Local tissue oxygen pressure was measured with micro-Pt-electrodes in the resting tibialis anterior muscles of 10 patients with chronic occlusive arterial disease and in 9 healthy subjects. The mean pO₂ values in the patient group was 13.3 ± 5.4 Torr, and 27.2 ± 4.4 Torr in the control group. The difference is highly statistically significant. Preliminary results of treatment of 10 patients with the rheologically-active drug Ancrod show a statistically significant increase of oxygen pressure in the ischemic muscle tissue. Measurement of muscle tissue pO₂ with microelectrodes seems to be an objective and quantitative method to investigate the oxygen supply to ischemic muscles and to judge the effects of therapeutic mea sures.