Abstract
We evaluated the Ohmeda Biox III pulse oximeter for accuracy of intermittent measurement of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) in 201 attempted measurements in 109 patients with a wide range of illnesses and severity of illness. Method: Arterial blood was sampled at the same time that two oximeters were operated, one equipped with an ear cuvette and the other with a finger cuvette. The blood SaO2 was measured with an IL282 CO-Oximeter. We obtained acceptable data (noted by absence of a low-perfusion warning) in 184 of 201 attempts (91.5%) with the ear cuvette and in all 201 attempts with the finger cuvette. Results: The mean difference between finger-cuvette SaO2 and blood SaO2 was 0.21%, which was not statistically significant. The mean difference between ear-cuvette SaO2 and blood SaO2 was 0.53%, which was statistically significant (P<0.005) but not clinically important. Both these data sets were highly correlative, 0.871 for the ear cuvette and 0.904 for the finger cuvette (P<0.0005). In the 17 samples when the ear-cuvette oximeter signaled insufficient perfusion to accurately recover data, the finger-cuvette correlation was high and significant (r = 0.969, P < 0.0005). We recorded the infrared-channel raw output from measurements being made on one patient and found a significantly higher amplitude when the finger cuvette was used (3.0 volt) than when the ear cuvette was used (0.5 volt). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the Ohmeda Biox III pulse oximeter can accurately monitor arterial oxygen saturation in most patients. (Respir Care 1985;30:840-845).
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