Introduction Overnight oximetry is recommended as an initial screening tool to diagnose sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children (Hang et al 2015). Oximetry is a key component of cardio-respiratory sleep studies (CRSS). Most CRSS equipment has integrated oximeters. This study aims to compare the oxygen saturation data obtained by the standalone Masimo Rad97 oximeter to the integrated Somnotouch oximeter.

Method This was a retrospective study including children aged 2 months – 15 years of age. CRSS were performed using Somnotouch RESP (including Flow, RIPsum, Heart rate and Saturations) alongside standalone pulse oximetry using Masimo Rad97, both Somnotouch RESP and Masimo Rad 97 sleep and wake times were identical. Masimo Rad 97 uses an averaging time of 2-4 seconds compared to 4 seconds for Somnotouch RESP oximeter. Statistical analysis was performed with Graphpad Prims 9 using the Wilcoxon signed rank test .

Results A total of 25 studies were included in the analysis (19 males and 6 females). Table 1 shows the comparison between the oxygen saturation data recorded on Somnotouch RESP integrated oximeter and standalone Masimo Rad 97.

Conclusion Our study shows there is a significant difference in oxygen saturation data obtained by these two different pulse oximeters; these differences are likely to be due to differences in technical specifications and merit further investigation. Our study therefore highlights the need for specialist physiologist review of oximetry studies.