A Comparison of Oxygen Saturation Data in Inpatients with Low Oxygen Saturation Using Automated Continuous Monitoring and Intermittent Manual Data Charting

In a cohort of patients with prolonged desaturations, manual recordings of SpO2 did not reflect physiologic patient state when compared with continuous automated sampling. Currently, early warning scores depend on manual vital sign recordings in many settings; the study data suggest that SpO2 ought to be added to the list of vital sign values that have been shown to be recorded inaccurately.