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.