Abstract
<p>The primary objective was to evaluate the reliability of pulse oximetry in detecting episodes of IH in the presence of motion by using measured SpO2 values and pulse plethysmograph waveforms from two pulse oximeters in the same infant for validation. The secondary objective is to determine the prevalence of the different mechanisms of Intermittent hypoxemia episodes in premature infants with advancing age. The tertiary objective was to develop an analytical tool to assess each infant's oxygenation instability, severity, frequency, and duration of intermittent hypoxemia episodes. This tool provided a non-subjective analysis of oxygenation instability in multiple site studies in the neonatology intensive care unit (NICU) for premature infants with underlying lung disease and immature respiratory systems. It further allowed for non-biased assessment in comparing the within-subject effect of the two target ranges of arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) on ventilatory stability in premature infants of 23-28 weeks gestational age (GA). The optimized version of this tool was utilized to evaluate intermittent hypoxemia and hyperoxemia. A recommendation for further study is enclosed.<br />
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