Which of the following statements regarding capillary blood samples is TRUE?

Capillary blood samples, particularly from infants, provide useful information about several parameters, but measuring arterial oxygen levels (PO2) from capillary samples is often more clinically relevant than some of the other measures. When blood is drawn from capillaries, the oxygen saturation levels reflect the oxygen content in the arterial blood, although less directly than arterial samples. This makes the correlation of capillary PO2 with arterial PO2 important in assessing the respiratory status of patients.

In the context of the other statements, capillary pH does not consistently correlate well with arterial pH, especially in critical situations where the patient's condition may alter these values. While capillary PCO2 values can provide general information, they are much less reliable for estimating arterial PCO2 due to differences in sampling technique and intrinsic physiological variations. Warming the heel with a wet cloth is not considered a standard procedure for capillary sampling, making this recommendation less relevant. In summary, the correspondence of capillary PO2 values to arterial PO2 values highlights the clinical utility of capillary samples in certain assessments, particularly relating to oxygenation status.