NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Discrepancies between pulse oximetry (SPO2) and arterial oxygen saturation (SAO2) among Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians were associated with higher rates of hidden hypoxemia, organ dysfunction and mortality in an electronic health records analysis.
"This work doesn't ask us to throw out pulse oximetry entirely," Dr. An-Kwok Ian Wong of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina told Reuters Health by email. "But it does suggest that we may need to be more cautious in interpreting its values to guide care."
"Until more equitable pulse oximetry is in widespread use, we make one potential recommendation," he said. "We may need to consider higher pulse oximetry targets to achieve equal risk of hidden hypoxemia across all race and ethnicity subgroups. This is a very nuanced question and needs further research."
As reported in JAMA Network Open, Dr. Wong and colleagues studied data from close to 90,000 patients with first arterial blood gas (ABG) measurements and an SPO2 of at least 88% within five minutes before the ABG test. The mean age was 62; 65.5% were White; 29.6%, Black; 2.7%, Hispanic; and 2.3%, Asian.
Hidden hypoxia - defined as an SPO2of at least 88% but an SAO
