University of Michigan researchers find that racially biased pulse oximeter readings may further limit opportunities for Black patients with heart failure — who are already less likely to get treatment — to receive potentially lifesaving therapies, such as heart pumps and transplants.
Tag: pulse oximetry
UCHealth Initiative Reduces Off-Label Pulse Oximeter Placement
A short-term quality improvement initiative at UCHealth in Colorado helped change the culture of pulse oximetry use, reducing the off-label placement of sensors from 15% to less than 1% and reinforcing that different types of pulse oximeters are not interchangeable.
UCSF Launches Initiative to Address Disparities in Pulse Oximetry Performance
The UCSF Hypoxia Laboratory and UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) are formally launching the Open Oximetry Project, a multi-year initiative to improve access to safe pulse oximeters worldwide, by sharing data and creating new standards and technologies for oximeter validation that better account for skin color.
Common Medical Tool May Delay Treatment of Nonwhite Patients with COVID-19
A retrospective analysis of over 7,000 patients with COVID-19 found that pulse oximeter devices — tools that measure oxygen levels in the blood and that are used in virtually every U.S. hospital — overestimated blood oxygen levels in non-White patients.
Signs of COVID-19 Mortality May be Easily Measured at Home
Two easily measurable signs of health are distinctly predictive of higher mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a study examining the cases of inpatients with COVID-19 at Rush University Medical Center and University of Washington Medicine hospitals.
Can Current Smartphone Technology Tell You When a Pandemic Might Come Calling?
UC San Diego researchers find that an optical tool already embedded in many smartphones can accurately diagnose blood-oxygen levels and help monitor respiratory disease in patients, particularly when they are quarantined at home.