Racial bias and reproducibility in pulse oximetry among medical and surgical inpatients in general care in the Veterans Health Administration 2013-19: multicenter, retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To evaluate measurement discrepancies by race between pulse oximetry and arterial oxygen saturation (as measured in arterial blood gas) among inpatients not in intensive care.

Design

Multicenter, retrospective cohort study using electronic medical records from general care medical and surgical inpatients.

Setting

Veteran Health Administration, a national and racially diverse integrated health system in the United States, from 2013 to 2019.

Participants

Adult inpatients in general care (medical and surgical), in Veteran Health Administration medical centers.

Main outcomes measures

Occult hypoxemia (defined as arterial blood oxygen saturation (SaO₂) of <88% despite a pulse oximetry (SpO₂) reading of ≥92%), and whether rates

SUBMITTER: Valbuena VSM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9254870 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature