Reference values for oxygen saturation from sea level to the highest human habitation in the Andes in acclimatised persons.

Rojas-Camayo, Jose; Mejia, Christian Richard; Callacondo, David; Dawson, Jennifer A; Posso, Margarita; Galvan, Cesar Alberto; Davila-Arango, Nadia; Bravo, Erick Anibal et al. · Thorax · 2018

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

Oxygen saturation, measured by pulse oximetry (SpO<sub>2</sub>), is a vital clinical measure. Our descriptive, cross-sectional study describes SpO<sub>2</sub> measurements from 6289 healthy subjects from age 1 to 80 years at 15 locations from sea level up to the highest permanent human habitation. Oxygen saturation measurements are illustrated as percentiles. As altitude increased, SpO<sub>2</sub> decreased, especially at altitudes above 2500 m. The increase in altitude had a significant impact on SpO<sub>2</sub> measurements for all age groups. Our data provide a reference range for expected SpO<sub>2</sub> measurements in people from 1 to 80 years from sea level to the highest city in the world.

Medical subject headings