FETAL PULSE OXIMETRY - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT ON SENSOR PRECISION DETERMINED BY DUAL SENSOR STUDIES

Objectives: The objective of the study was to test the clinical reprod ucibility of intrapartum fetal pulse oximetry. Study Design: This obse rvational study was performed on the labour ward and 27 women were rec ruited. After obtaining written consent two sensors were placed on the same fetus. Results: More than 82 h of valid paired data was obtained and preliminary analysis is presented. The mean signed difference bet ween dual sensors was - 0.04%Sat (S.D. 8.12%Sat) The precision for a s ingle sensor was +/-5.74%Sat. The most common absolute saturation diff erence was 1%Sat (median: 46%Sat, 5th and 95th centiles: 29 and 60%Sat , respectively). Occasions when the difference was outside 2 S.D. were of short duration. Conclusions: There is good clinical reproducibilit y with the latest sensor design. The frequency distribution of oxygen saturation values lends support to 30-60%Sat as the normal range in th e human fetus. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.