The relationship between plasma vascular endothelial growth factor and erythrocyte 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate: The putative role of chronic hypoxia

The non-invasive assessment of chronic tissue hypoxia is difficult. Pulse oximetry only allows the peripheral oxygen saturation to be measured, while the detection of hyperlactataemia needs to take into account the fact that the accumulation of lactic acid may result from several causes other than prolonged tissue hypoxia. Arterial blood oxygen measurement is invasive and often does not give a good indication of the level of tissue hypoxia. Other suggested methods include the use of positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance T2 ∗ relaxation time measurement, photoacoustics and high-frequency ultrasound.
Source: Medical Hypotheses - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research