Central venous oxygenation: when physiology explains apparent discrepancies

Central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO(2)) >70% or mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO(2)) >65% is recommended for both septic and non-septic patients. Although it is the task of experts to suggest clear and simple guidelines, there is a risk of reducing critical care to these simple recommendations. This article reviews the basic physiological and pathological features as well as the metrological issues that provide clear evidence that SvO(2) and ScvO(2) are adaptative variables with large inter-patient variability. This variability is exemplified in a modeled population of 1,000 standard ICU patients and in a real population of 100 patients including 15,860 measurements. In these populations, it can be seen how optimizing one to three of the four S(c)vO(2) components homogenized the patients and yields a clear dependency with the fourth one. This explains the discordant results observed in large studies where cardiac output was increased up to predetermined S(c)vO(2) thresholds following arterial oxygen hemoglobin saturation, total body oxygen consumption needs and hemoglobin optimization. Although a systematic S(c)vO(2) goal-oriented protocol can be statistically profitable before ICU admission, appropriate intensive care mandates determination of the best compromise between S(c)vO(2) and its four components, taking into account the specific constraints of each individual patient.