CMS-50F Pulse Ox Results

I received the CMS-50F pulse ox last week from Cooper Med

Three night studies below
Night One
Date: 06/27/15
Time Length Recorded: 05:32:13

Event Data ---- Sp02---- PR
Total Event:----- 57---- 55
Time In Event (min):---- 28.9---- 23.5
Avg. Event Dur. (sec):---- 30.4---- 25.7
Index (1/hr):---- 10.9---- 10.6
Artifact (%):---- 0.2---- 0.2
Adjusted Index (1/hr):---- 11.0---- 10.6

Sp02 Data
Basal Sp02 (%): 94.3
Time (min) <88%: 0.2
Events <88%: 1
Minimum Sp02 (%): 84
Avg. Low Sp02 (%): 92.3
Avg. Low Sp02 <88%: 84.0

PR Data
Avg Pulse Rate (bpm): 73.9
Low Pulse Rate (bpm): 62

%Sp02 Level---- Events---- Below (%)---- Time (%)
99-95:---- 3---- 100---- 100
94-90:---- 53---- 95---- 61.7
89-85:---- 0---- 90---- 0.1
84-80:---- 1---- 85---- 0.0
79-75:---- 0---- 80---- 0.0
74-70:---- 0---- 75---- 0.0
69-65:---- 0---- 70---- 0.0
64-60:---- 0---- 65---- 0.0

Analysis Parameters
Desaturation Event: drop n Sp02 by at least 4%, for a minimum duration of 10 seconds.
PR Event: Change in rate by at least 6 bpm, for a minimum duration of 8 seconds.

Night 2
Date: 06/28/15
Time Length Recorded: 08:07:56

Event Data---- Sp02---- PR
Total Event:---- 125---- 85
Time In Event (min):---- 63.9---- 40.4
Avg. Event Dur. (sec):--- 30.7---- 28.5
Index (1/hr):---- 15.4---- 10.5
Artifact (%):---- 0.3---- 0.3
Adjusted Index (1/hr):---- 15.4---- 10.5

Sp02 Data
Basal Sp02 (%): 93.5
Time (min) <88%: 0.6
Events <88%: 4
Minimum Sp02 (%): 84
Avg. Low Sp02 (%): 90.9
Avg. Low Sp02 <88%: 86.0

PR Data
Avg Pulse Rate (bpm): 74.1
Low Pulse Rate (bpm): 59

%Sp02 Level---- Events---- Below (%)---- Time (%)
99-95:---- 0---- 100---- 100
94-90:---- 99---- 95---- 76.9
89-85:---- 25---- 90---- 1.2
84-80:---- 1---- 85---- 0.0
79-75:---- 0---- 80---- 0.0
74-70:---- 0---- 75---- 0.0
69-65:---- 0---- 70---- 0.0
64-60:---- 0---- 65---- 0.0

Analysis Parameters
Desaturation Event: drop n Sp02 by at least 4%, for a minimum duration of 10 seconds.
PR Event: Change in rate by at least 6 bpm, for a minimum duration of 8 seconds.

Night Three
Date: 06/29/15
Time Length Recorded: 08:17:37

Event Data---- Sp02---- PR
Total Event:---- 146---- 81
Time In Event (min):---- 72.1---- 47.3
Avg. Event Dur. (sec):---- 29.6---- 35.0
Index (1/hr):---- 17.6---- 9.8
Artifact (%):---- 0.3---- 0.3
Adjusted Index (1/hr):---- 17.7---- 9.8

Sp02 Data
Basal Sp02 (%): 93.8
Time (min) <88%: 3.1
Events <88%: 2
Minimum Sp02 (%): 76
Avg. Low Sp02 (%): 91.5
Avg. Low Sp02 <88%: 87.0

PR Data
Avg Pulse Rate (bpm): 73.9
Low Pulse Rate (bpm): 51

%Sp02 Level---- Events---- Below (%)---- Time (%)
99-95:---- 2---- 100---- 100
94-90:---- 131---- 95---- 73.9
89-85:---- 13---- 90---- 1.0
84-80:---- 1---- 85---- 0.6
79-75:---- 0---- 80---- 0.2
74-70:---- 0---- 75---- 0.0
69-65:---- 0---- 70---- 0.0
64-60:---- 0---- 65---- 0.0

Analysis Parameters
Desaturation Event: drop n Sp02 by at least 4%, for a minimum duration of 10 seconds.
PR Event: Change in rate by at least 6 bpm, for a minimum duration of 8 seconds.

I dont know what I should be looking for exactly with these reports?

It really depends on your reason for using it in the first place. I look mainly at 3 different numbers with my data from the pulse ox
1. Average or Basal SpO2%
2. Average pulse Rate
3. time (min),88%
I chart items 1 and 2 daily for well over a year now to track trends.

for me I am more interested in trends over time then any specific event. It is always interesting, to me anyway, to look at events from the BiPAP to the SpO2 readings, but I lost interest in that some time ago. I have REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and still look at the fine data when I have a disorder event to see if there is a relation between SpO2 level and events, but have not found one. But it sure is fun to see my sleeping pulse rate double...

For the trends I try to understand is how does my stress level for the day, or amount of water I drink or amount of exercise I get a day impact my average SpO2 levels or average pulse rate. I can show trends based on where I travel and have moved from / to and impact on my SpO2 levels, also I can show short term trends (up and down) even with an overnight trip...

What where your reasons to get one to start with?

pbriggs wrote: What where your reasons to get one to start with?

I had an overnight sleep study done recently. The url for my sleep study results is below my message. A forum user suggested I get the pulse ox to monitor my oxygen before I see my new sleep doctor next month (to save having to do a overnight pulse ox test, to move my treatment along, because I am not receiving any cpap therapy at the moment). I fired my original sleep doctor due to inappropriate comments, touching, and the fact he dismissed my sleep study test completely, and sent me home with a sleeping pill.

Im a newbie when it comes to understanding sleep apnea and what it does to us long term. If anyone can shed some light on my pulse ox results, I would appreciate it. Thanks

It sounds like firing your original sleep doc was a good move, Masta. Most of us would have done the same.

In using my pulse ox, I look at my average SpO2 and like to see it well above 90. Mine are similar to yours and I'm ok with averages around 94%. My wife's are consistently at 98 and 99%. People are different.

I get concerned if I see more than one event reading on a given night well down in the 80's. I'm seeing quite a few for you on Nights 2 and 3, mainly at 85 to 89. So I would want to ask my doc about that. It's good that you have a pulse ox. I think all xpap-ers should have one, not generally to use every night, but to be able to check their oxygen levels from time to time.

You're in the right place here, Masta. Keep asking questions as they come up. Good luck to you.

Let's start at the beginning...

Looking at Night One

Recording time was 5 hours 32 minutes and change. That works out to a little over 332 minutes.

Focusing on the SpO2 there were 57 "events" recorded during that time. If you have 57 "events" in 5.53 hours you end up with about 10.3 "events" per hour. Your report shows 10.9 so there must be some rounding errors but we are close enough.

Now we need to determine how long each "event" lasted. With an average "event" duration of 30.4 seconds multiplied by the 57 total events you end up being in "events" 28.9 minutes of the night.

The artifact number gives you an idea of how stable your finger was in the device. When your finger moves around a lot, the artifact number increases. Lower is better.

So far we know that every 5.5 minutes you experience an O2 "event" that lasts a little over half a minute.

During the 30 seconds event you had one time when your O2 levels dropped to 84%. The idea is to have your oxygen levels above 90% (or 88% depending upon which standard you want to follow) so you fell below that one time for 12 seconds.

My cardiologist recommended that I adjust my Analysis Parameters for Pulse events to a change in rate by at least 15 pbm for a minimum duration of 30 seconds. The idea is to try to pick out the larger moves that may indicate a heart reaction to an apnea event.

On Night Two you had 4 O2 "events" below 90% and spent 36 seconds in that range.

On Night Three you had 2 O2 "events" below 90%, but this time you spent 186 seconds having those events.

By now you should have the basics. The idea is to stay above 90% at all times, and if you do fall below 90% you want to spend as little time below as you can.

The next step is to graph the data and see if there is a correlation between the O2 "events" and the pulse "events." In general if your O2 drops and your heart rate increases at roughly the same time, your drop in O2 is causing additional stress on your heart.