Comparison of heart rate and oxygen saturation measurements from M asimo and N ellcor pulse oximeters in newly born term infants

Aim To compare heart rate ( HR ) measurements from M asimo and N ellcor pulse oximeters ( PO s) against HR measured via a three lead electrocardiograph ( ECG ) ( HR ECG ). We also compared peripheral oxygen saturation ( S p O 2 ) measurements between N ellcor and M asimo oximeters. Method Term infants born via elective caesarean section were studied. ECG leads were placed on the infant's chest and abdomen. M asimo and N ellcor PO sensors were randomly allocated to either foot. The monitors were placed on a trolley, and data from each monitor screen captured by a video camera. HR , S p O 2 measurements and signal quality were extracted. Bland– A ltman analysis was used to determine agreement between HR from the ECG and each oximeter, and between S p O 2 from the oximeters. Results We studied 44 infants of whom 4 were resuscitated. More than 8000 pairs of observations were used for each comparison of HR and S p O 2. The mean difference (±2 SD ) between HR ECG and HR N ellcor was −0.8 (±11) beats per minute (bpm); between HR ECG and HR M asimo was 0.2 (±9) bpm. The mean (±2 SD ) difference between S p O 2Masimo and S p O 2Nellcor was −3 (±15)%. The N ellcor PO measured 20% higher than the M asimo PO at S p O 2 <70%. Conclusion Both oximeters accurately measure HR . There was good agreement between SpO 2 measurements when S p O 2 ≥70%. At lower S p O 2 , agreement was poorer.