What do you think about my pulse ox report?

Here it is. Lot of events, but my average low is only a couple percent below basal. What's confusing is so many events, which is a 4% change, but my average low is only a couple percent below at rest. So, I guess my SpO2 is going up too, beside down, from basal. But what I'd really like to know is, does this look report good?

Total events - 46
time in event (min) - 31.9
Avg. event dur (sec) - 41.6
index - 6.8
basal - 92.9
time (min)<88% - .1
events<88% - 1
minimum SpO2 - 87
Avg low SpO2 - 90.7%


Concerning my PR
59 events
avg (bpm) - 57.8
low pulse rate - 50

Looks good, BUT...

I don't like the drop below 90% and in a perfect world your average and basal numbers would be higher. Still not too bad.

Remember that the device is on your finger and some of the events may be induced by finger movement. Some of these show up as artifacts and other just show up as events. If you look at the graph and blow the time frame up to something like a 10 minute window you can see if there is a relationship between your oxygen events and pulse events.

One way to check this out is to start the oximeter recording and then lay down on your bed and thrash back and forth for 5 - 10 minutes. Then just lay still for the next 5 minutes. Download your data and see what it shows.

In 8 hours of recording during sleep I will see between 30 and 60 oxygen events with very little correlation to pulse events. I don't know if this is "normal" but it is just me...

I don't like your basal % either and I know you don't live on top of a mountain...don't think there are even any big hills in your neck of the woods.
Do what HoseCrusher says for 5 minutes or so while awake and see what it says.
You are too young to be having that low of a basal O2 IMHO given where you live. It's common to have a slightly lower basal when someone lives at higher altitudes because of the decrease in O2 levels at altitude.
Check it out to see what it is running while awake.

I will add that I am close to sea level and my Basal SpO2 runs around 96.5%, my average low runs around 95% and my low runs around 93%.

Once again those are my numbers but I have been told that they are reasonably good for an average.

Saw this post and I thought it looks interesting as I know nothing about pulsox readings!

Put my pulsox on my partner last night these were the results:
SpO2 :90 0.9 % time
89 0.5
88 0.3
87 0.1

so totalling 0.9 % time in 80s

My pulse ox also detects movement and there was no movement detected during the low readings only minutes after. He has not been diagnosed or assessed for sleep apnoea, however he is always exhausted and falls asleep at the drop of a hat.

Should I be worried?

sleepinglass wrote:Should I be worried?

What is his O2 reading during the day while awake and alert?
Any known lung issues?
Live at altitude?
While drops in O2 can have any number of causes....if he has other signs or symptoms of sleep apnea then it would make sense to rule that out first since it is easy to do.

Some drops in O2 are normal during the night while asleep. These are usually small drops though and not usually below 90%.

I use the Contec CMS50F - very sensitive to movements, as most are.

to really understand what you are looking at - try this link - http://www.howequipmentworks.com/physic ... meter.html
the most interesting part is where it explains how the device works with the light and sensor - gives you an idea on how sensitive these devices can be.

for me - a typical night is: while in Michigan at ~400 feet above sea level
30 events
Basel SpO2 of 93.8%
time (min) <88% = 0

When I am in Texas at ~4000 feet above sea level
60 events
Basel SpO2 of 91.3%
time (min) <88% = 1.5

For me - I am very sensitive to elevation. I track my data in excel, so easy to get averages based on location. BTW - the Basel SpO2 when I am in Germany is even higher than in Michigan even though the elevation is about the same...

pbriggs wrote:To really understand what you are looking at - try this link - http://www.howequipmentworks.com/physic ... meter.html
the most interesting part is where it explains how the device works with the light and sensor - gives you an idea on how sensitive these devices can be.

Great contribution. Thanks for posting.

My SpO2 numbers are a lot closer to yours (Michigan) and OP but not HoseCrusher. I've noticed that oxygenation is higher during the day by a few percent. I just assume average SpO2 roughly correlates with average heart rate. Seems to for me anyways.

Wow, ok an eye opener.
Hubby's numbers have been (over the last year since we got an oximeter) are ( show 3 nights, yup, variations of course, I put the complete summary reports in dropbox if anyone cares to peak at them).
29 events / 42 events/ 78 events
Basel SpO2 of 92.4%/ 91.68% / 90.8%
time (min) < 90% = 42.3 / <88% = .9 / < 88% = 23.2
Events < 90% = 11 / <88% = 4 / < 88% = 34
avg low spo2 = 89.6% / 89.1% / 87.7%
dropbox files = dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34505132/before%20o2%20-%201.pdf
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34505132/before%20o2%20-%202.pdf
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34505132/before%20o2%20-%203.pdf

We just added an o2 concentrator with 2L / min the last week or so after we finally got a DME oximeter to show he was below the magic numbers of > 4 minutes below 88% the insurance wants to pay for O2.
It was our 2nd try, we got the DME oximeter over the weekend and took 2 days worth, one showed bad enough readings finally. I have been concerned about the readings for some time, and the Dr said that for some people they do better on o2 even if they don't meet the insurance criteria, but some reason was not getting us a prescription for us to pay for it to try, though they did do the 2nd test prescription (I blame it on the difficulties we have doing conversations when we are not face to face - which means voice mail phone tag with the office, on slow mode of course).

So with the o2 concentrator, readings are now
29 events / 2
Basel SpO2 of 92.6% / 92.6
time (min) < 88% = 0 / 3.2
Events < 88% = 0 / 0
avg low spo2 = 0 / 90.0%
Dropbox files; dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34505132/after%20o2%20-1.pdf
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/34505132/after%20o2%20-2.pdf

OK question, yes, I had heard 95% is best number (or above). May/May not be possible for hubby, but we would like to get as best as possible for long term health.

History, he has severe sleep apnea (91 events / hour in 1st sleep study). He does well on an APAP, most nights AHI is 1.9 or below, with o2 his AHIs have dropped to below .5 typically. He does have occasional nights, 2-4 a month, where the AHIs go high, sometimes very high (nope, we don't know why). On an apap he has more hypo apneas than OAs. He probably had sleep apnea his whole life, certainly had symptoms his whole adult life, weight doesn't affect it (he has been athletic and at ideal weight and he has been overweight about 40 lbs). He was a premie baby back in the mid 1950s when they didn't know what they do now for premie baby treatment, being born 2 weeks early. He has had BEP chemothearapy which can affect lungs (before he got diagnosed with sleep apnea), but a recent lung test done showed his lung function is good with no problems. Before apap, he did sleep better sitting up.

What else do you think might get his o2 saturation up to that great number some of you are getting - closer to 95%? We just started the o2 concentrator (an older model, we are trying to research for a better model - at least smaller so he can take it on an airplane for use while traveling, and doesn't put out so much heat). I am hesitant to up his o2 amount at this time, at least until we do a check in 6 months to see how his lungs are doing. BEP can cause lung problems aggrevated by high o2 percentage, high pressure (e.g. scuba diving), and long term use. While his BEP chemo was 15 years ago, there are some rare problems that have shown up 10 years after the chemo was taken.

A second question - his HR rate is crazy on his oximeter test. His hypo-apneas do not seem to correlate strongly to his o2 saturation. His pulse spikes do not seem to correlate strongly to his o2 saturation. This seen by visually comparing graphs. I think I will ask him to wear an exercise chest HR monitor along with his oximeter to see if that gives us better HR info (his daytime HR is good, low because of his exercise).

And FYI, we used the CMS550FW and the 2nd test with the DMEs oximeter hubby wore theirs on one hand and ours on the other hand. The numbers were very very close, so that was nice to know.

Hi Pugsy

He has no known health issues and we do not live in a place with high altitude.
During the day his readings do not drop below 95!
He is not overweight and leads a very healthy life style.
He blames the oxymetre for not being calibrated!
However my readings with the same oxymeter using xpap, during the night, do not drop below 90!

Never the less he still does not trust it or believe the results.
He is allergic to the medical profession and will not consult one, no matter what I say or do.
He would believe any university papers from universities or recognised research, if only I could lay my hands on some.
I am unable to find much on the forum, unfortunately.

Maybe I should assume that his dips into the 80s are normal dips and there is nothing to worry about.


.

CpapWife, I believe the pulse rate graph should look those you displayed on the 3/15/2014 reports. I don't know what is going on in the 5/18 and 5/21/2014 reports. My suggestion would be to take a copy of your reports and visit a cardiologist to get their take on this. There are some artifacts that skew things but it looks like his heart is having some problems finding a steady rhythm.

It could be an equipment malfunction, and it could be transient occurrence, but I think it would be best to have someone with medical training look at the reports and do some follow up.

My oxi stats for comparison from last nite are:
Awake 96-98
Basal 96.3
Min 88
Avg. Low 92.9
(During my sleep study prior to treatment my saturation was 66% for 1/3 of my total sleep)

Awake/Sitting pulse 68
Avg. Pulse 51.6
Low Pulse 38

What do you think about my mother's night? I'm trying to get her to understand that she needs cpap.

That is an ugly chart, but...

Notice that there are close to 57% artifacts. This could change things a little, but further testing could help clarify what is going on.

unfortunately most pulse oximeters do not store the plethysmographic waveform. If you use sleepyhead - you can record from the Contec devices directly into the software. When you do this it records the plethysmographic waveform, or pleth graph for short. Looking at the pleth graph you can determine if the low 02 or high pulse rate is an artifact or real. You can also learn about the heart (okay only the left side) by looking at the waveform.

But - depending on the device you are using, the pleth graph may not truly represent what is going on - for reference - http://www.masimo.com/pdf/whitepaper/LAB3618B.pdf

Here is a link to how to look at the wave form - http://www.isakanyakumari.com/february-1-2013.php
If your waveform is way off from what this shows, then you have one that applies a filter to the data that is collected to make it easier for the device to determine a pulse rate...