Pulse oximetry in newborn intensive care

Pulse oximetry, used in the neonatal intensive care unit provides the clinician with accurate information only 80% of the time. Differing calibration algorithms result in pulse oximeter A giving mean values 2% greater than that of pulse oximeter B. This finding implies that neonatal units should use differing alarm limits for the two machines. In reality however there is currently no agreement in neonatal intensive care units regarding alarm limits used. More work requires to be done to establish pulse oximetry as a useful technique to guide neonatal resuscitation at birth. Further work is currently being done to eliminate such practical problems both in the neonatal unit and in the delivery room to provide clinicians with objective data to guide management