Performance of Different Pulse Oximeters Can Affect the Duration of Field Breathing Experiments

Abstract

Pulse oximeters are widely used vital sign monitors, not only in hospitals, but also in the field and outdoor experiments. In field breathing experiments, pulse oximeters and other monitoring devices have to work in non-standard ambient conditions, outside programmed physiological limits and thus their accuracy might be affected. In order to assess the reliability of pulse oximetry as a monitoring method of experimental subjects in field experiments, we used five different pulse oximeter probes to monitor 13 healthy volunteers during a trial, in which they were breathing into simulated avalanche snow. In the course of the trial when desaturation occurred, significant discrepancies in oxygen saturation readings among the oximeters were observed-in the rate of desaturation, the time of its onset, and in the lowest recorded values. These observations suggest that relying on a single parameter, like peripheral oxygen saturation, as a single study endpoint, or as a safety measure, presents a possible safety risk. In future field trials, endpoints should be set on the basis of more parameters and continuous clinical assessment.