Oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) signal dropout leaves caregivers without a reliable measure to guide oxygen therapy. We studied SpO(2) dropout in preterm infants on continuous positive airway pressure, noting the SpO(2) values at signal loss and recovery and thus the resultant change in SpO(2), and the factors influencing this parameter. In 32 infants of median gestation 26 weeks, a total of 3932 SpO(2) dropout episodes were identified (1.1 episodes/h). In the episodes overall, SpO(2) decreased by 1.1%, with the SpO(2) change influenced by starting SpO(2) (negative correlation), but not dropout duration. For episodes starting in hypoxia (SpO(2) < 85%), SpO(2) recovered at a median of 3.2% higher than at SpO(2) dropout, with a downward trajectory in a quarter of cases. We conclude that after signal dropout SpO(2) generally recovers in a relative normoxic range. Blind FiO(2) adjustments are thus unlikely to be of benefit during most SpO(2) dropout episodes.
展开▼
