Why does accurate oximetry matter?
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Clinicians and patients rely on pulse oximetry as a noninvasive way to understand blood oxygen level. This is an important health indicator, particularly in patients with conditions that affect respiratory function, including lung diseases, heart problems, or infections.1 An accurate pulse oximetry device reading helps clinicians and patients understand what, if any treatment is needed. An inaccurate pulse oximetry device reading can result in missed low blood oxygen levels in sick patients.
Nonin is committed to providing your patients accurate oximetry.
NOT ALL PULSE OXIMETERS
PERFORM ALIKE
What happens if low blood oxygen levels are missed?
Hypoxemia, or low blood oxygen levels, is a sign of a problem tied to breathing or blood flow. It can result in shortness of breath, rapid breathing, fast/pounding heartbeat, confusion, and blue skin. Hypoxemia can be life threatening.2
Patients experiencing hypoxemia symptoms due to unknown causes often go to the emergency room or urgent care where their blood oxygen levels are measured with a noninvasive pulse oximeter. This measurement helps clinicians understand the severity of their symptoms and decide on an appropriate treatment path. If, for some reason, the pulse oximeter measurement shows incorrect blood oxygen levels in the normal range this is considered hidden hypoxemia or occult hypoxemia.
Hidden hypoxemia is dangerous to patients because it appears that their blood oxygen levels are fine. This could lead to:
Incorrect hospital discharge
Undertreatment of symptoms
Misdiagnosis of health conditions
For seriously ill patients, hidden hypoxemia could lead to serious and life-threatening symptoms being ignored.3,4
Why does hidden hypoxemia happen?
Although hidden hypoxemia is not new, it became more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the symptoms of COVID-19 was severe hypoxemia. Many COVID-19 patients weren't aware of this condition or the potential severity of their symptoms. This placed a heightened importance on the readings from non-invasive pulse oximeters as a screening tool to determine the severity of a patient’s condition.
Without an accurate blood oxygen level reading hypoxemia can be missed or contribute to a life-threatening health issue.
The phenomenon of hidden hypoxemia ultimately comes down to your choice in pulse oximetry technology.
IT'S NOT JUST A PULSE OXIMETER
Not all pulse oximeters read accurately on patients with dark skin pigmentation. Because pulse oximetry technology relies on light passing through the skin, the technology can be affected by pigmentation. Oximeters with lower quality components or technology could provide inaccurate readings for darker pigmented patients.5 These inaccurate readings create an inequitable healthcare experience and could result in hidden hypoxemia cases.6
Let the data talk – Nonin performs
Nonin believes it is vitally important that all patients in need of pulse oximetry monitoring receive healthcare that is equitable, regardless of differences in skin melanin content.
As a noninvasive measurement tool, no pulse oximeter is 100% accurate 100% of the time. However, the data shows that certain brands of oximeters do perform significantly better than others.
See the latest clinical performance of Nonin’s pulse oximeters:
Additional resources
1. Torp KD, Modi P, Pollard EJ (2024) Pulse Oximetry. StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470348/
2. https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/hypoxemia/basics/definition/sym-20050930
3. Fawzy A., Wu T.D., Wang K., et al. Racial and ethnic discrepancy in pulse oximetry and delayed identification of treatment eligibility among patients with COVID-19. JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182:730–738.
4. Fawzy A., Wu T.D., Wang K., et al. Clinical outcomes associated with overestimation of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6
5. Leeb, G., Auchus, I., Law, T., Bickler, P., Feiner, J., Hashi, S., Monk, E., Igaga, E., Bernstein, M., Chou, Y. C., Hughes, C., Schornack, D., Lester, J., Moore, K., Okunlola, O., Fernandez, J., Shmuylovich, L., & Lipnick, M. (2024). The performance of 11 fingertip pulse oximeters during hypoxemia in healthy human participants with varied, quantified skin pigment. eBioMedicine, 102, 105051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105051
6. Sjoding M.W., Dickson R.P., Iwashyna T.J., Gay S.E., Valley T.S. Racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:2477–2478.
The Nonin Onyx 9590 was the only device within current FDA ARMS in all skin pigmentations and in all decades of arterial blood oxygen saturation (70-80, 80-90, and 90-100%).5
The Nonin Onyx 9590 had the lowest ARMS of all devices for subjects with dark skin pigmentation in oxygen saturation ranges of 70-80 and 80-90%.5
The Nonin Onyx 9590 had the lowest overall ARMS of all fingertip pulse oximeters in the study.5
Testimonial
"These pulse oximeters are miracle things for me, I'm sure I wouldn't be alive today without them, they are that crucial."
- David Teslow, Nonin Fingertip User Since 2009
The Performance of 11 Fingertip Pulse Oximeters During Hypoxemia in healthy human participants with varied, quantified skin pigment
The Effects of Skin Pigmentation and Low Saturation in Oximetry
