The red cell mass-arterial oxygen relationship in normal man: <i>Application to patients with chronic obstructive airway disease</i>

John V. Weil; Gail Jamieson; Donald W. Brown; Robert F. Grover

doi:10.1172/JCI105854

The red cell mass-arterial oxygen relationship in normal man: Application to patients with chronic obstructive airway disease

John V. Weil, Gail Jamieson, Donald W. Brown, and Robert F. Grover

First published July 1, 1968 - More info

The normal relationship between red cell mass measured, with ⁵¹chromium-labeled red cells, and arterial oxygen saturation (Sa_O₂) over the range from 97.3 to 83.4% was examined by studying 73 normal men residing at sea level and altitudes of 1600 and 3100 m. A simple, linear relationship between Sa_O₂ and red cell mass was found over the entire range (r = - 0.7524, P < 0.001). In contrast, a correlation between red cell mass and arterial O₂ tension was found only over the lower half of the range of O₂ tensions where Sa_O₂ was also decreased (r = - 0.7731, P < 0.005). This suggested that O₂ saturation rather than tension is the more important determinant of the erythropoietic response to chronic hypoxia. If this response is regulated by tissue O₂ tension, then it will be influenced by O₂ transport, which, in turn, is a function of blood flow and arterial O₂ content, and hence Sa_O₂. In nine patients with chronic obstructive airway disease the relationship between red cell mass and Sa_O₂ was also determined and was found to be steeper than in the normal subjects (P < 0.05).

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