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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet Anaesth Analg / An evaluation of pulse oximeters in dogs, cats and horses.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia2003; 30(1); 3-14; doi: 10.1046/j.1467-2995.2003.00121.x

An evaluation of pulse oximeters in dogs, cats and horses.

Abstract: Evaluation of five pulse oximeters in dogs, cats and horses with sensors placed at five sites and hemoglobin saturation at three plateaus. Methods: Prospective randomized multispecies experimental trial. Methods: Five healthy dogs, cats and horses. Methods: Animals were anesthetized and instrumented with ECG leads and arterial catheters. Five pulse oximeters (Nellcor Puritan Bennett-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and Surgi-Vet V3304) with sensors at five sites were studied in a 5 x 5 Latin square design. Ten readings (SpO2) were taken at each of three hemoglobin saturation plateaus (98, 85 and 72%) in each animal. Arterial samples were drawn concurrently and hemoglobin saturation was measured with a co-oximeter. Accuracy of saturation measurements was calculated as the root mean squared difference (RMSD), a composite of bias and precision, for each model tested in each species. Results: Accuracy varied widely. In dogs, the RMSD for the NPB-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and V3304 were 2.7, 2.2, 2.4, 1.7 and 2.7% respectively. Failure to produce readings for the NPB-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and V3304 were 0, 0, 0.7, 0, and 20%, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the tongue, toe, ear, lip and prepuce or vulva were 0.95, 0.97, 0.69, 0.87 and 0.95, respectively. In horses, the RMSD for the NPB-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and V3304 were 3.1, 3.0, 4.7, 3.3 and 2.1%, respectively while rates of failure to produce readings were 10, 21, 0, 17 and 60%, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the tongue, nostril, ear, lip and prepuce or vulva were 0.98, 0.94, 0.88, 0.93 and 0.94, respectively. In cats, the RMSD for all data for the NPB-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and V3304 were 5.9, 5.6, 7.9, 7.9 and 10.7%, respectively while failure rates were 0, 0.7, 0, 20 and 32%, respectively. The correlation coefficients for the tongue, rear paw, ear, lip and front paw were 0.54, 0.79,.0.64, 0.49 and 0.57, respectively. For saturations above 90% in cats, the RMSD for the NPB-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and V3304 were 2.6, 4.4, 4.0, 3.5 and 4.8%, respectively, while failure rates were 0, 1.7, 0, 25 and 43%, respectively. Conclusions: Accuracy and failure rates (failure to produce a reading) varied widely from model to model and from species to species. Generally, among the models tested in the clinically relevant range (90-100%) RMSD ranged from 2-5% while failure rates were highest in the V3304.
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Publication Date: 2003-09-23 PubMed ID: 14498912DOI: 10.1046/j.1467-2995.2003.00121.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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  • Clinical Trial
  • Journal Article
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research studies the accuracy and reliability of five different pulse oximeters in measuring oxygen saturation in the blood of dogs, cats, and horses. The results of the study indicate that the accuracy and failure rates of these devices vary greatly across different models and species.

Study Methodology

This study was conducted using a prospective randomized multispecies experimental trial involving five healthy dogs, cats, and horses. The animals were anesthetized and equipped with ECG leads and arterial catheters. Five different pulse oximeters (Nellcor Puritan Bennett-395, NPB-190, NPB-290, NPB-40 and Surgi-Vet V3304) were tested on the animals. The sensors were placed at five different sites in a 5 x 5 Latin square design.

  • Ten separate readings of blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) were taken at three different specified points (98%, 85%, and 72%) on each of the animals.
  • Arterial samples were also drawn at the same time and the oxygen saturation in the hemoglobin was measured using a co-oximeter. This reading was used as a comparative control to evaluate the accuracy of the pulse oximeters.

Accuracy of Saturation Measurements

The accuracy of the saturation measurements was assessed using the root mean squared difference (RMSD), a method that considers both bias and precision. This calculation was made for each of the oximeter models tested in each of the animal species.

Results

Results varied widely across the different oximeters and species. In dogs, the RMSD ranged from 1.7-2.7% across the five tested pulse oximeters. The failure rates (instances where the device failed to produce a reading) were generally low.

In horses, the RMSD ranged from 2.1-4.7% among the five oximeters, with failure rates notably higher than those in dogs. The horses had failure rates between 0 and 60%.

In cats, the RMSD was significantly higher, ranging from 5.6-10.7%. The failure rates in cats were also higher compared to dogs and horses.

The correlation between the readings from different sites on the animals were generally high, showing consistent results across different points of measurement.

Conclusions

The study concluded that the accuracy and reliability of pulse oximeters varied greatly from model to model and from species to species. In the clinically relevant range of 90-100% saturation, the RMSD in all tested models ranged from 2-5%. The highest failure rates were observed in the Surgi-Vet V3304 model.

Cite This Article

APA
Matthews NS, Hartke S, Allen JC. (2003). An evaluation of pulse oximeters in dogs, cats and horses. Vet Anaesth Analg, 30(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2995.2003.00121.x

Publication

Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
ISSN: 1467-2987
NlmUniqueID: 100956422
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 30
Issue: 1
Pages: 3-14

Researcher Affiliations

Matthews, Nora S
  • Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4474, USA. nmatthews@cvm.tamu.edu
Hartke, Sherrie
    Allen, John C

      MeSH Terms

      • Anesthesia / veterinary
      • Animals
      • Catheterization, Peripheral / veterinary
      • Cats / physiology
      • Dogs / physiology
      • Electrocardiography / veterinary
      • Equipment Failure
      • Female
      • Heart Rate
      • Horses / physiology
      • Male
      • Oximetry / instrumentation
      • Oximetry / standards
      • Oximetry / veterinary
      • Prospective Studies
      • Reproducibility of Results

      Citations

      This article has been cited 14 times.
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