Article Text

Download PDFPDF
Individualised limits for SpO2 were no better than fixed limits for detecting hypoxia or hyperoxia in sick infants

Statistics from Altmetric.com

Request Permissions

If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text

QUESTION: Are individualised limits for arterial oxyhaemaglobin saturation (SpO2) assessed by pulse oximetry as accurate as fixed limits for detecting hypoxia and hyperoxia in sick newborn infants?

Design

Comparison of sensitivities and specificities of individualised and fixed SpO2 limits for detecting hypoxia or hyperoxia.

Setting

A neonatal intensive care unit in Liverpool, UK.

Patients

95 infants (68% boys, median gestational age 28 weeks, median birth weight 1165 g) who required arterial lines. Infants with structural congenital cardiac lesions were excluded.

Description of tests and diagnostic standard

Simultaneous measurements of SpO2 and partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) (diagnostic standard) taken over a 3 year period. For each infant, ≥2 sets of measurements were required, taken ≤6 hours apart. For each …

View Full Text

Footnotes

  • Source of funding: no external funding.

  • For correspondence: Dr N J Shaw, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Liverpool Women's Hospital, Crown Street, Liverpool L8 7SS, UK. Fax +44 (0)151 702 4082.