Pulse oximeter measurements of oxygen saturation in sickle cell blood

The use of pulse oximeters for sickle cell patients has not been reported and therefore its validity is currently unknown. In vivo patient studies are difficult to perform because of the vaso-occlusive dangers of compromised oxygen saturation. To assess the ability of pulse oximeters to monitor sickle blood accurately, the authors used whole sickle and normal blood samples in a pulsating cuvette to compare the Nellcor pulse oximeter to the IL co-oximeter. The results show (for 100-70% saturation range) that the Nellcor does measure sickle blood saturation within 1.8%.<>