1 University of Kentucky, Division of Neonatology, Room MS 472, Lexington, KY 40536-0084
To the Editor.
We would like to call attention to a recently recognized and potentially dangerous interaction of a skin surface Po2/Pco2 monitor with a phototherapy device.
A five-day-old, 1,200-g infant was receiving mechanical ventilation for the treatment of respiratory failure and phototherapy for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia. An observation was made that within a few seconds of removal of the phototherapy unit from the bedside the skin surface Pco2 would increase dramatically. If the phototherapy was then reintroduced, the Pco2 would decrease as dramatically.