Evaluation of Oxygen Saturation Index Compared With Oxygenation Index in Neonates With Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure

Oxygenation index (OI), an invasive measurement, is routinely used as a marker of severity of hypoxemic respiratory failure in neonates. Oxygen saturation index (OSI) is a noninvasive measurement and has been shown to be a reliable surrogate marker of OI in children and adults with respiratory failure.

To evaluate the correlation of OI with OSI and to derive and validate predictive OI from noninvasive OSI measurements for clinically relevant OI values.

For this retrospective cohort study, 220 neonates requiring invasive mechanical ventilation for hypoxic respiratory failure during the first 3 days of admission were recruited from a level III neonatal intensive care unit during a 6-year period, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2017. Data were analyzed from January 2017 to December 2017.

The primary outcome was correlation of OI with OSI, analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. The secondary outcome was derivation and validation of OI from OSI. The data were split into derivative samples, from which a predictive equation for OI was derived using generalized linear model, and a validation sample was used to assess the predictive ability of the derived OI. Bland-Altman plot was used to assess agreement between derived OI and measured OI.

A total of 1442 paired OI and OSI measurements from 220 infants (190 preterm and 30 term; median [interquartile range] gestational age, 29 [26-33] weeks; mean [SD] birth weight, 1602 [1092] g) were recorded during the study. The median (interquartile range) number of samples was 5 (3-9) per patient. Overall, OI and OSI showed strong correlation (r = 0.89). The correlation was stronger in preterm infants (<28 weeks, r = 0.93; 28-33 weeks, r = 0.93) and within an oxygen saturation range of 85% to 95% (r = 0.94). The predictive derivative equation showed a strong linear association and good agreement in both derivation and validation data sets, with strong accuracy measures of derived OI for OI cutoffs of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25.

A strong correlation of OI with OSI was found. Derived OI from OSI was in good agreement and strongly predictive of clinically relevant OI cutoffs from 5 to 25. Oxygenation index derived from noninvasive sources may be useful to reliably assess severity of respiratory failure and response to therapy on a continuous basis.