ABSTRACT
Pulse oximetry is an imperative noninvasive tool to detect hypoxia. Signal extraction technology (SET)-based pulse oximeters recommended in neonates are expensive, while finger pulse oximeters are cheaper and widely available. Oxygen saturation (SpO2) values and reliable saturation reading time of 30 neonates were obtained using MEDITIVE MPO-03 fingertip pulse oximeter and Masimo SET-Rad-97 pulse oximeter on the right hand and right foot. Bland-Altman technique, paired t-test and Pearson correlational analysis were used. There was a good agreement of paired SpO2 measurements between the two oximeters on right foot. The agreement limits and bias were -1.2% to 0.8%, -0.1% for right hand, and -0.7% to 0.7%, -0.01% for right foot, respectively with a confidence interval of 95%. The mean response time obtained for finger pulse oximeter on right hand and right foot was 66.4 ± 4.6 and 58.9 ± 5.0 and for SET-based pulse oximeter was 47.8 ± 2.9 and 48.3 ± 3.0 s, respectively. Finger pulse oximeters can be considered in low-resource settings on the foot of the neonate, with a response time of 59 s.