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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.
Publication Date: 2003-09-23 PubMed ID: 14498912DOI: 10.1046/j.1467-2995.2003.00121.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- 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
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4474, USA. nmatthews@cvm.tamu.edu
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.- Dörfelt R, Diels J, Hartmann K. Evaluation of the performance of two new generation pulse oximeters in cats at different probe positions and under the influence of vasoconstriction. J Feline Med Surg 2022 Oct;24(10):1026-1031.
- Ambar N, Eshar D, Shrader TC, Beaufrère H. Anesthetic Effects of Intramuscular Alfaxalone-Ketamine in Naked Mole Rats (Heterocephalus glaber). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 2020 Sep 1;59(5):539-545.
- Borgeat K, Simpson K, Reese D, Wilson H, Potter J, Ogden D. Bilateral bronchial stent deployment for palliative treatment of a compressive intrathoracic mass in a cat. JFMS Open Rep 2018 Jan-Jun;4(1):2055116917753816.
- Duke-Novakovski T. Basics of monitoring equipment. Can Vet J 2017 Nov;58(11):1200-1208.
- Grubb TL, Anderson DE. Assessment of clinical application of pulse oximetry probes in llamas and alpacas. Vet Med Sci 2017 Aug;3(3):169-175.
- Fahlman Å, Edner A, Wenger S, Foggin C, Nyman G. Pulmonary gas exchange and acid-base status during immobilisation of black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) in Zimbabwe. J S Afr Vet Assoc 2016 Dec 2;87(1):e1-e9.
- Chemonges S, Shekar K, Tung JP, Dunster KR, Diab S, Platts D, Watts RP, Gregory SD, Foley S, Simonova G, McDonald C, Hayes R, Bellpart J, Timms D, Chew M, Fung YL, Toon M, Maybauer MO, Fraser JF. Optimal management of the critically ill: anaesthesia, monitoring, data capture, and point-of-care technological practices in ovine models of critical care. Biomed Res Int 2014;2014:468309.
- Evans AL, Sahlén V, Støen OG, Fahlman Å, Brunberg S, Madslien K, Fröbert O, Swenson JE, Arnemo JM. Capture, anesthesia, and disturbance of free-ranging brown bears (Ursus arctos) during hibernation. PLoS One 2012;7(7):e40520.
- Balakrishnan A, Silverstein DC, Bedenice D, Bersenas A, Bourgeois JP, Carroll CL, Dunkel B, Greensmith T, Hopper K, Lascola K, Mangalmurti N, Rozanski E, Wilkins P, Yehya N. Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Veterinary Medicine-The ARDSVet Definitions. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio) 2025 Jul-Aug;35(4):327-338.
- De Benedictis GM, Contiero B, Bovo D, De Rosa V, Cardinali M, Zanusso F. Evaluation of the performance of three pulse oximeters at different probe positions in awake rabbits. PLoS One 2025;20(5):e0323044.
- Rossi HS, Mykkänen AK, Junnila JJT, Hyytiäinen HK. Pulse oximetry at two sensor placement sites in conscious foals. Acta Vet Scand 2025 Jan 23;67(1):6.
- Senocak MG, Okur S, Ersoz U, Yanmaz LE, Kocaman Y, Turgut F, Bedir AG, Orhun OT. Comparison of human smartwatch and transmittance pulse oximetry for evaluating peripheral oxygen saturation in anesthetized dogs. Iran J Vet Res 2024;25(2):166-169.
- Espinosa-Morales MF, Miranda-Cortés AE, Mota-Rojas D, Casas-Alvarado A, Jiménez-Yedra A, Pérez-Sánchez AP, Hernández-Ávalos I. Correlation of Blood Hemoglobin Values with Non-Invasive Co-Oximetry Measurement of SpHb in Dogs Undergoing Elective Ovariohysterectomy. Animals (Basel) 2024 Mar 7;14(6).
- Tucker PK, MacFarlane P. Incidence of perianaesthetic complications experienced during feline bronchoscopy: a retrospective study. J Feline Med Surg 2019 Oct;21(10):959-966.
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