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Study
Racial and ethnic discrepancy in pulse oximetry and delayed identification of treatment eligibility among patients with COVID-19.
June 22, 2022
Fawzy A, Wu TD, Wang K, et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182(7):730-738.
Black and brown patients have experienced disproportionately poorer outcomes from COVID-19 infection as compared with white patients. This study found that patients who identified as Asian, Black, or Hispanic may not have received timely diagnosis or treatment due to inaccurately measured pulse oximetry (SpO2). These inaccuracies and discrepancies should be considered in COVID outcome research as well as other respiratory illnesses that rely on SpO2 measurement for treatment.
