Pulse oximetry for evaluation of radial and ulnar arterial blood flow

This study was designed to assess the use of pulse oximetry (PO) to determine the adequacy of radial and ulnar arterial blood flow by comparing measurements of digital arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SaO2) with conventional visual determination of palmar flush (PF) using a simple occlusion test (SOT) or the Allen's test (AT) in 48 healthy volunteers. Baseline SaO2 values ranged from 94% to 100% with a mean saturation of 97.2%. Eight subjects with initially abnormal reperfusion times were re-evaluated. Of those eight subjects, three remained abnormal. The predictability of an abnormal reperfusion time based on pretesting history was very low. AT reperfusion times as measured by PO and PF showed excellent correlation (r = 0.882). The SOT does not require subject cooperation and provides information similar to the AT. PO, whether combined with the AT or the SOT, has the distinct advantage of providing objective data.