452 - Oxygen Saturation Profiles in Healthy Term Infants in Early Post-Natal Life

Poster Number: 452
Publication Number: 452.228

Elizabeth Goetz, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Brandon Tomlin, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; Kathryn Rinaldo, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Nicole Baumann- Blackmore, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Verona, WI, United States; Rachel Petro, UW Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Beth Smith, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Jasmine Zapata, University of WI School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WV, United States; Michael R. Lasarev, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Elizabeth B. McBride, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; Dinushan C. Kaluarachchi, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Background: Oxygen saturation profiles or histograms, generated by pulse oximetry are a graphic representation of oxygen saturation profiles over time. Oxygen profiles are commonly used to make management decisions on respiratory support and oxygen supplementation in preterm infants. Term infants admitted to the NICU with non-respiratory or cardiac concerns such as hypoglycemia and jaundice are also typically monitored with continuous pulse oximetry. There is limited evidence on normal oxygen saturation profile values in term infants. There is a need to define reference ranges for oxygen saturation profiles in this population to facilitate interpretation of oxygen saturation profiles in term infants who are being monitored with continuous pulse oximetry.

Objective: To determine oxygen saturation profiles over an 8- hour monitoring period among healthy term neonates between 24 and 48 hours after birth. We also evaluated the relationship between oxygen profiles during early post-natal life and short-term outcomes at 2 months.

Design/Methods: A prospective cohort study of healthy term neonates born at 37-41 weeks of gestation. Preductal oxygen saturations were continuously monitored for an 8-hour period between 24 hour and 48 hours of life using pulse oximetry. Oxygen profile histograms were recorded for analysis. The average percent oxygen saturation (SpO2) was measured over the entire study duration for each neonate and was characterized as the fraction of time their SpO2 reading was in each of five intervals:

Results: Seventy-five neonates were included in the study. Median SpO2 was 95.4%. Percentage time spent in each of the five SpO2 intervals were as follows: 0.07% (Conclusion(s): This study provides reference ranges for oxygen profiles in healthy term neonates during 24-48 hours of life. Nearly one-quarter of newborns spent the highest percentage of time in SpO2 of 90-94%. This data is important when interpreting oxygen saturation profiles of term neonates admitted to the NICU.
Figure 1. Oxygen profile for the whole cohort.
Figure 2. Oxygen profiles for subjects in different SpO2 groups