Knowledge on pulse oximetry among pediatric health care professionals: a multicenter survey

Area of Science:

• Pediatric critical care medicine
• Medical device technology
• Healthcare professional education

Background:

• Pulse oximetry is a vital non-invasive tool in pediatric care for monitoring oxygen saturation.
• Adequate knowledge of pulse oximetry principles and limitations is essential for accurate patient assessment.
• Gaps in healthcare professional knowledge can lead to suboptimal patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the knowledge level of pulse oximetry among healthcare professionals in pediatric care settings.
• To identify specific areas of knowledge deficits related to pulse oximetry.
• To compare knowledge levels across different clinical settings and professional roles.

Main Methods:

• A multiple-choice questionnaire assessed knowledge among 505 pediatric healthcare professionals across 19 Greek institutions.
• Exploratory factor analysis identified distinct knowledge domains: practical and theoretical.
• Mean scores were calculated and compared between clinical settings using statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Overall mean knowledge score was 61.9%, with significant differences between practical (82.7%) and theoretical (44.2%) knowledge.
• Pediatricians, family practitioners, and those in level 3 institutions or ICUs demonstrated higher scores, particularly in theoretical knowledge.
• Logistic regression indicated that participants from level 3 institutions and ICUs had a significantly higher likelihood of achieving better scores.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric healthcare professionals exhibit substantial deficiencies in understanding pulse oximetry, particularly its underlying principles and limitations.
• There is an urgent need for educational interventions to enhance pulse oximetry knowledge across all experience levels in pediatric care.
• Improving theoretical knowledge of pulse oximetry is critical for better clinical decision-making in pediatrics.