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The telegraph

“Misleading” Oximeters Could Increase BAME Covid Mortality Rate

Oximeters could “seriously mislead” results for BAME patients and potentially help increase Covid-19 death rates, according to an NHS review. Pulse oximeters attach a clip-like device to a person’s fingers, toes, or earlobes and send out a beam of light to measure the level of oxygen in the blood. The resulting SpO2 can be used to monitor oxygen levels in people with a variety of medical conditions, including people at home with coronavirus, as well as to evaluate patients in the hospital. However, a new article cites “increasing body of evidence” that pulse oximetry is less accurate in patients with darker skin. This could contribute to health inequalities such as the increased Covid-19 death rate among ethnic minority patients, according to a review conducted for the NHS Race and Health Observatory. She calls on the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) to urgently review the ethnic minority pulse oximetry products used in hospitals and in the UK public. The review by Olamide Dada of Cardiff University School of Medicine cites evidence from more than three decades of inaccurate and ambiguous readings for those with darker pigmentation and skin tones. A 1990 study found that inaccurate pulse oximetry readings were more than twice as common in black patients as they were in white patients. Further studies found that SpO2 levels were overestimated in dark-skinned individuals with low blood oxygen levels. A 2020 Michigan University study found that pulse oximeter readings for blood oxygen levels were three times more likely to be inaccurate in African American patients. The review said, “Given the increased mortality among ethnic minority patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is possible that the differential accuracy of pulse oximetry may be contributing to this health inequality.” Serious clinical effects could include delays in people seeking medical care or inadequate patient oxygenation, she warns. And it could result in ICU patients with coronavirus receiving premature “step-down” treatment. Dr. Habib Naqvi, Director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said: “At this crucial time, we cannot afford to overlook this quick review and guidance that can prevent late hospital admissions and improve the health of blacks and ethnic minorities People at risk or recovering from Covid-19. “This review highlighted the need to ensure that healthcare equipment and devices are culturally literate and sensitive, but without contributing to a range of current and historical health inequalities . “Ravi Sharma said,” This review highlights an area of ​​health inequalities where treatment for one group of patients can be more effective than another group. This is unacceptable and needs to be addressed urgently. “Pharmacists and other health professionals who use pulse oximeters in their offices or who make pulse oximeters available to the public should consider ethnicity when considering their effectiveness in users.”

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