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A medical device that measures oxygen levels in the blood is more likely to give misleading or inaccurate results in black patients, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers analyzed data from thousands of adult patients who received supplemental oxygen at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, comparing the data to that of 37,000 patients in about 200 intensive care units from other hospitals.
They found that the finger-worn pulse oximeter was more likely to return inaccurate results for black users based on comparing the data with a test that takes arterial blood samples.
“In the University of Michigan cohort, among patients who had an oxygen saturation of 92 to 96 percent on pulse oximetry, arterial oxygen saturation of less than 88 percent was found in 88 of 749 arterial blood gas measurements in black patients and in 99 of 2,778 measurements in white patients, ”the study says.
The devices have likely been used more widely in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the study notes. Research suggests that black Americans, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, may also be at increased risk of low blood oxygen levels in health care facilities that depend on devices to sort out diseases. patients.
The devices emit a red light through a user’s fingertip, and for those with darker skin, the device can give misleading readings, said Michael Sjoding, a pulmonologist, lead author of the study, at NPR.
Mistakes, he says, occur about three times more often in black patients.
Inaccurate readings “don’t happen a lot, but if you think about how often these measurements are taken, if they are wrong 12% of the time, I’m afraid it could have a real impact,” he said. .
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