Is it needed?
A pulse oximeter is a quick, inexpensive, and needle-free device that measures the amount of oxygen saturating a patients blood. Evidence suggests utilizing a pulse oximeter with children can accurately aid in diagnosing children with previously unrecognized hypoxemia (view the study). It is important to measure the oxygen saturation of children with asthma. While children exhibiting a bad (but quick) asthma attack can have normal oxygen saturation levels, a patient that has been overworking themself to breathe for an extended period of time will eventually tire out and oxygen levels will begin to drop.
Within a school nurse’s office is an array of vital sign monitoring equipment. However, many offices are missing a pulse oximeter to accurately measure the severity of an attack. With a low SpO2 level, students without access to an emergency inhaler would require immediate attention. Our highlighted pulse oximeter this week is the Creative SP-20 Pulse Oximeter can be used for spot checking or continuous monitoring and utilizes repeated measurements within a second to detect even slight changes in the patients oxygen level.