Measuring Oxygen Saturation

In critically ill clients a more invasive and continuous monitoring system is used to measure arterial blood gases through an arterial line.

Measuring oxygen saturation.

Normal arterial blood oxygen saturation levels in humans are 95 100 percent. See figure 4 1 for a pulse oximeter. Oxygen saturation can be measured using a pulse oximetry device which is a non invasive method to measure arterial oxygen saturation level. You can measure the blood s percentage of oxygen saturation using a pulse oximeter a clip like sensor device that is placed on a thin part of your body such as an earlobe or nose.

The pulse oximeter may be incorporated into a multiparameter patient monitor. In medical shorthand you may hear it called a pao 2 when using a blood gas and an o 2 sat spo2 when using a pulse ox. If the level is below 90 percent it is considered low and called hypoxemia. Oxygen saturation is a term used to define how much oxygen your blood is carrying.

However oxygen saturation may be lower if you have a respiratory disease or congenital heart disease. Oxygen saturation is the fraction of oxygen saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin unsaturated saturated in the blood the human body requires and regulates a very precise and specific balance of oxygen in the blood. A pulse oximeter is a medical device that indirectly monitors the oxygen saturation of a patient s blood as opposed to measuring oxygen saturation directly through a blood sample and changes in blood volume in the skin producing a photoplethysmogram that may be further processed into other measurements.