Patients who self-report as Black or Hispanic appear more likely than White patients to experience occult hypoxemia during anesthesia, a large retrospective cohort study suggests.
"The rate of occult hypoxemia — arterial blood oxygen saturation less than 88% despite a pulse oximetry reading greater than 92% — was significantly higher in patients with self-reported Black or Hispanic race or ethnicity compared to those of self-reported White race or ethnicity," senior study author Matthew A. Levin, MD, told Medscape Medical News
