OXYMETRY IN LEFT RING FINGER GIVES BEST RESULT IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19!

Dr. Anita Basavaraj*, Dr. Krutish Kumar, Dr Chaitanya Patil and Dr. Darshan

ABSTRACT

Pulse oximetry is a test used to measure the oxygen level (oxygen saturation) of the blood. It is an easy, painless measure of how well oxygen is being sent to parts of your body furthest from your heart, such as the arms and legs. The technique of pulse oximetry using spectrophotometric methodology measures oxygen saturation by illuminating the skin and measuring changes in light absorption of oxygenated (oxyhemoglobin) and deoxygenated blood (reduced hemoglobin) using two light wavelengths: 660 nm (red) and 940 nm (infrared).The ratio of absorbance at these wavelengths is calculated and calibrated against direct measurements of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) to establish the pulse oximeter’s measure of arterial saturation (SpO2). Pulse oximetry is ubiquitously used for monitoring oxygenation in the critical care setting. By forewarning the clinicians about the presence of hypoxemia, pulse oximeters may lead to a quicker treatment of serious hypoxemia and possibly circumvent serious complications. Many people with COVID-19 disease have low levels of oxygen in their blood, even when they feel well. Low oxygen levels can be an early warning sign that people need medical care. The study conducted here aims to provide the comparison of peripheral capillary hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2) values among every finger of the two hands. Total of Fifty patients between age of 18-65 years from General ward of Patients admitted with a positive result on RT-PCR or the Rapid Antigen Test available for COVID-19 were enrolled in the study. They were monitored for their SpO2 levels after 5 min of rest. After their blood pressure, heart rate, fasting time and body temperature were measured, SpO2 values were obtained from every finger and each of two hands fingers with the same pulse oximeter. All the patients enrolled for the study were exhibiting right hand dominance. The SpO2 values were obtained after at least 1 min of measurement period. A total of 500 SpO2 measurements from these 50 patients were obtained. The highest average SpO2 value was measured from left ring finger (97.04 % ± 1.07) and it was statistically significant when compared with right index finger and left index finger. The second highest average SpO2 value was measured from left little finger and it was statistically significant only when compared with left index finger (the finger with the lowest average SpO2 value) (p < 0.05). Based on the SpO2 measurement from the fingers of the both hands of these right handed dominant patients, we observed that, the left ring finger and left little finger have statistically significant higher value when compared with left middle and index finger in right-hand dominant patients. Similarly, among the right hand, the Right little finger followed by Right ring finger gave the most consistent results which further strengthen our assumption that Left ring finger and left little finger have the most accurate value that reflects the arterial oxygen saturation in patients with COVID-19.

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