Monitoring of cerebral oxygen saturation with a jugular bulb catheter after near-drowning and respiratory failure.

We report on monitoring oxygen saturation with a jugular bulb fiber-optical catheter in an 18-month-old girl after fresh water near-drowning followed by acute respiratory failure. The first measured cerebral oxygen saturation was 22% despite normal values for arterial and central venous oxygen saturation. After conventional therapy had failed to improve cerebral oxygen saturation, we started veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Normal levels of cerebral oxygen saturation were achieved after six hours. The girl was extubated after seven days and discharged after twenty-five days in good general condition and without obvious evidence of neurological damage. We believe that in this case of near-drowning, monitoring cerebral oxygen saturation with a jugular bulb catheter was important for surveillance of cerebral hypoxia.