Randomized Evaluation of Pulse Oximetry in 20,802 Patients; II

Abstract

This study demonstrated that pulse oximetry can improve the anesthesiologist's ability to detect hypoxemia and related events in the OR and PACU and that the use of the oximeter was associated with a significant decrease in the rate of myocardial ischemia. Although monitoring with pulse oximetry prompted a number of changes in patient care, a reduction in the overall rate of postoperative complications was not observed.