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Related Experiment Videos

Do changes in pulse oximeter oxygen saturation predict equivalent changes in arterial oxygen saturation?

Gavin D Perkins1, Daniel F McAuley, Simon Giles

  • 1Intensive Care Unit, Birmingham Heartlands and Solihull NHS Trust (Teaching), Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, UK.

Critical Care (London, England)
|August 22, 2003
PubMed
Summary

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Changes in pulse oximeter oxygen saturation (SpO2) do not reliably predict arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) changes in critically ill patients. Conditions like anemia and acidosis do not significantly impact this relationship, limiting pulse oximetry

Area of Science:

  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Physiology
  • Medical Instrumentation

Background:

  • Pulse oximetry (SpO2) is widely used to estimate arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2).
  • The accuracy of SpO2 in critically ill patients, particularly with co-existing conditions, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the correlation between changes in SpO2 and SaO2 in critically ill patients.
  • To assess the influence of acidosis and anemia on the precision of SpO2 in predicting SaO2.

Main Methods:

  • 1085 paired SpO2 and SaO2 readings were collected from 41 critically ill patients over 2 months.
  • Exclusion criteria included significant jaundice and poor oximetry tracings.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • A moderate correlation (r=0.606) was found between changes in SpO2 and SaO2.
  • Pulse oximetry tended to overestimate actual SaO2 changes.
  • Anemia and acidosis had minimal impact on the SpO2-SaO2 relationship.

    • Conclusions:

    • Changes in SpO2 are not reliable predictors of SaO2 changes in the intensive care unit.
    • Neither anemia nor acidosis significantly affects the clinical utility of pulse oximetry in this population.