INACCURATE PULSE OX READINGS PREVENTED CARE FOR BLACK, HISPANIC COVID-19 PATIENTS: STUDY

Thu 02 June 2022:

Pulse oximeter measurements are less accurate among Black, Hispanic and Asian COVID-19 patients compared to white patients. These inaccuracies may have led to minority patients receiving delayed or no treatment, according to a study published May 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

“Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to experience unrecognized and delayed recognition of eligibility to receive COVID-19 therapy,” the study also said, adding that such disparities could be the reason for differing COVID-19 outcomes between races.

Throughout the pandemic, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that Black and Hispanic Americans were disproportionately more likely to die of COVID-19.

In October 2020, the CDC announced 24 percent of COVID-19 deaths between May and August of that year were Hispanic or Latino and 19 percent were Black.

But the US population is just 18 percent Hispanic and 12.5 percent Black.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning for pulse oximeters, which work by shining a red light through a patient’s fingertip, last February. saying that they “may be less accurate in people with dark skin pigmentation”.

“The US Food and Drug Administration is informing patients and health care providers that although pulse oximetry is useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, pulse oximeters have limitations and a risk of inaccuracy under certain circumstances that should be considered,” the FDA stated at the time.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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