Is Venous to Arterial Conversion (v-TAC) of Blood Gas Reliable in Critical Ill Patients in the ICU?

Utility of Mathematically Converted Venous to Arterial Blood Gas for Clinical Monitoring

Objective: Arterial blood gas (ABG) is essential in the clinical assessment of potential acutely ill patients venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC), a mathematical method, has recently been developed to convert peripheral venous blood gas (VBG) values to arterialized VBG (aVBG) values. The aim of this study is to test the reliability of aVBG compared to ABG in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting.

Method: Consecutive patients admitted to the ICU with pH values <7,35 or >7,45 are included in this study. Paired ABG and aVBG samples are drawn from patients via arterial catheter, central venous catheter and/or peripheral venous catheter and compared.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Sepsis; Respiratory Insufficiency; Alkalosis; Acidosis; Abdomen, Acute; Metabolic Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC)

Detailed Description

Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is essential in assessment of respiratory and metabolic status in acutely ill patients. In comparison to peripheral venous blood (PVG) sampling, the ABG sampling procedure is more painful for the patient and technically more challenging for the clinician to perform. Other drawbacks of ABG sampling include adverse events such as subcutaneous hematoma, arterial thrombosis or embolization, and pseudoaneurysms.

Peripheral venous blood gas (VBG) sampling has been suggested as an alternative to the ABG procedure. This procedure causes less patient discomfort and the sample can be analysed in combination with other venous blood tests. Studies have revealed that pH and bicarbonate have good correlation, whereas venous and arterial blood gasses (pO2 and pCO2) show low agreement.

However, a new method has been developed to calculate ABG values mathematically from peripheral venous blood by use of venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC) software (Obimedical, Denmark), supplemented with oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry. The principle of the method is a mathematical transformation of VBG values to arterialized values (aVBG) by simulating the transport of blood back through the tissue. Initial testing of the method in an emergency department setting showed acceptable clinical congruence between arterial and mathematically arterialized pH and pCO2 with a small difference (+/- SD) on 0.001 +/- 0.024 and 0.00 0.46 kPa, respectively. However, inaccurate values of pO2 were seen when oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry was above 96%, due to the flat shape of the oxygen dissociation curve (ODC).

Although most patients in the ICU have arterial catheters therefrom ABG can be drawn, applying arterial catheter is difficult or even impossible in some patients. In relation to step-down some patients get arterial catheters removed and in the event of deterioration in patients acid-base or respiratory disease aVBG could prove useful as a minimally invasive tool to assess patients status.

The aim of this study is to investigate if v-TAC is reliable and safe to use in patients with critically respiratory or metabolic disease admitted to the ICU.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 50

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mads Lumholdt; Phone Number: +45 51914156; Email: m.lumholdt@rn.dk
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Kjeld Damgaard; Phone Number: +45 51914156; Email: kad@rn.dk

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • North Denmark
    • Aalborg, North Denmark, Denmark, 9000
      • Recruiting
      • Faculty of Medicine, Doctoral School, Ph.d. study
      • Contact: Christina Elmer, Secretary; Email: doctoral.school@adm.aau.dk
      • Principal Investigator: Mads Lumholdt, Cand. Med.
      • Principal Investigator: Kjeld Damgaard, Cand. Med. Ph.d.
      • Sub-Investigator: Erika Christensen, Cand. Med. Professor
      • Sub-Investigator: Peter Leutscher, Cand. Med. Professor

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All patients admitted to the ICU with acid-base and oxygenation parameters outside the normal reference values.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All patients admitted to the intensive care with the following:
• Arterial catheter for other purpose.
• Peripheral venous catheter or central venous catheter for other purpose.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Normal pH in arterial blood gas.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Case-Only
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Respiratory disease; Patients with acute respiratory insufficiency admitted to the ICU and with pH <7,35 or >7,45	Diagnostic test: venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC); Venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC) is a software (Obimedical, Denmark), which can convert venous blood gas values to arterial blood gas values. The principle of the method is a mathematical transformation of VBG values to arterialized values (aVBG) by simulating the transport of blood back through the tissue. To facilitate this simulation the following physiologically relevant assumptions were made: 1) The peripheral extremity was well perfused; 2) change in base excess across the tissue sampling site was approximately zero; 3) the respiratory quotient (rate of CO2 production and O2 utilisation over capillaries) could not vary outside the range 0.7 and 1.0, and 4) the haemoglobin concentration was constant from artery to vein.
Metabolic disease; Patients with acute metabolic disease admitted to the ICU and with pH <7,35 or >7,45	Diagnostic test: venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC); Venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC) is a software (Obimedical, Denmark), which can convert venous blood gas values to arterial blood gas values. The principle of the method is a mathematical transformation of VBG values to arterialized values (aVBG) by simulating the transport of blood back through the tissue. To facilitate this simulation the following physiologically relevant assumptions were made: 1) The peripheral extremity was well perfused; 2) change in base excess across the tissue sampling site was approximately zero; 3) the respiratory quotient (rate of CO2 production and O2 utilisation over capillaries) could not vary outside the range 0.7 and 1.0, and 4) the haemoglobin concentration was constant from artery to vein.
Sepsis; Patients with acute sepsis admitted to the ICU and with pH <7,35 or >7,45	Diagnostic test: venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC); Venous to arterial conversion (v-TAC) is a software (Obimedical, Denmark), which can convert venous blood gas values to arterial blood gas values. The principle of the method is a mathematical transformation of VBG values to arterialized values (aVBG) by simulating the transport of blood back through the tissue. To facilitate this simulation the following physiologically relevant assumptions were made: 1) The peripheral extremity was well perfused; 2) change in base excess across the tissue sampling site was approximately zero; 3) the respiratory quotient (rate of CO2 production and O2 utilisation over capillaries) could not vary outside the range 0.7 and 1.0, and 4) the haemoglobin concentration was constant from artery to vein.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pH between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pCO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pH between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pCO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Lin's Concordance correlation coefficient (CCC)	Comparison of pO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter). The closer CCC is to 1 the better correlation.	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pH between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter)	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pCO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter).	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from peripheral venous catheter).	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pH between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter).	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pCO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter).	1. january 2018
Bland and Altman's plot	Mean difference and 95% limits-of-agreement of pO2 (Unit of Measurement: kilopascal) between ABG and aVBG (from central venous catheter).	1. january 2018

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of patients with sepsis group.	Number and percentage of patients in 'sepsis' group.	1. january 2018
Number of patient with metabolic disease	Number and percentage of patients in 'metabolic disease' group.	1. january 2018
Number of patient with acute respiratory insufficiency	Number and percentage of patients in 'respiratory disease group' group.	1. january 2018
Mean number of days until pH neutrality in sepsis group	Mean number of days until patients ABG pH was within the range 7.35-7.45 in 'sepsis' group.	1. january 2018
Mean number of days until pH neutrality in patients with metabolic disease.	Mean number of days until patients ABG pH was within the range 7.35-7.45 in 'metabolic disease' group.	1. january 2018
Mean number of days until pH neutrality in patients with respiratory disease.	Mean number of days until patients ABG pH was within the range 7.35-7.45 in 'respiratory disease' group.	1. january 2018

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Aalborg University
• Collaborators: North Denmark Regional Hospital
• Investigators: Study Director: Peter Leutscher, Professor, Center for Clinical Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 9, 2017
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): January 30, 2018
• Study Completion (Anticipated): March 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 4, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): October 13, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 13, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 12, 2017
• Last Verified: October 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Critical care; Blood gas analysis; venus to arterial conversion
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases; Respiration Disorders; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Acid-Base Imbalance; Abdominal Pain; Respiratory Insufficiency; Metabolic Diseases; Alkalosis; Acidosis; Abdomen, Acute
• Other Study ID Numbers: v-TAC-ICU

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: IPD will be stored in safe government controlled data drives and paper data will be stored in a secure office. Doors to this office will be closed when investigators are not present. Sensitive IPD will not be shared with external researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No