ANALYSIS OF PULSE OXIMETRY DATA IN NORMAL SLEEPING CHILDREN

This study was designed to determine the range of oxygen saturation le vels encountered in normal sleeping children up to 10 years of age in their own home environment. Subjects were chosen by stratified random sampling from the general practice list of the town of Frome, Somerset , UK. Analysis of overnight pulse oximetry recordings allowed a normal range for the following parameters of oxygen saturation level to be r eported: mean, median, mode, maximum, fifth centile, upper and lower q uartiles and the number of greater than 4% dips in oxygen saturation p er hour. As a consequence of this study the values given can now be us ed to identify those children with abnormal sleep patterns.