Oxygen Saturation in Healthy Children Aged 5 to 16 Years Residing in Huayllay, Peru at 4340 m

Abstract

Schult, Sandra, and Carlos Canelo-Aybar. Oxygen saturation in healthy chidren aged 5 to 6 years residing in Huayllay, Peru, at 4340 m. High Alt. Med. Biol. 12:89-92, 2011.-Hypoxemia is a major life-threatening complication of childhood pneumonia. The threshold points for hypoxemia vary with altitude. However, few published data describe that normal range of variation. The purpose of this study was to establish reference values of normal mean Sao 2 levels and an approximate cutoff point to define hypoxemia for clinical purposes above 4300 meters above sea level (masl).Children aged 5 to 16 yr were examined during primary care visits at the Huayllay Health Center. Huayllay is a rural community located at 4340 m in the province of Pasco in the Peruvian Andes. We collected basic sociodemographic data and evaluated three outcomes: arterial oxygen saturation (Sao 2 ) with a pulse oximeter, heart rate, and respiratory rate. Comparisons of main outcomes among age groups (5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-16 yr) and sex were performed using linear regression models. The correlation of Sao 2 with heart rate and respiration rate was established by Pearson's correlation test.We evaluated 583 children, of whom 386 were included in the study. The average age was 10.3 yr; 55.7% were female. The average Sao 2 , heart rate, and respiratory rate were 85.7% (95% CI: 85.2-86.2), 80.4/min (95% CI: 79.0-81.9), and 19.9/min (95% CI: 19.6-20.2), respectively. Sao 2 increased with age ( p < 0.001). No differences by sex were observed. The mean minus two standard deviations of Sao 2 (threshold point for hypoxemia) ranged from 73.8% to 81.8% by age group.At 4300 m, the reference values for hypoxemia may be 14.2% lower than at sea level. This difference must be considered when diagnosing hypoxemia or deciding oxygen supplementation at high altitude. Other studies are needed to determine whether this reference value is appropriate for clinical use.

Associations between arterial oxygen saturation, body size and limb measurements among high‐altitude andean children

“…Anthropometry z score distributions were normal after removing a single strong outlier, and similarly for S p O 2 after excluding two individuals with unusually low readings. Despite previous studies reporting an association between S p O 2 and age (Schult and Canelo-Aybar, 2011), no such relationship was found in our data (Pearson’s correlation, P  = 0.1). Sex differences in S p O 2 were also absent ( t -test, P  = 0.3).…”

“…S p O 2 represents only one component of blood oxygen content (the total amount of oxygen the blood carries) which is also a function of erythrocyte and hemoglobin concentrations (Beall, 2001,2007). The advantage of S p O 2 is that it can be measured simply, inexpensively and non-invasively by pulse oximetry (Schult and Canelo-Aybar, 2011), and evidence for a major gene among Tibetans that increases oxygen saturation (Beall et al, 1994,1997) demonstrates that S p O 2 is sufficiently important to have been under natural selection in this native high altitude population. However, Andeans do not seem to share this adaptation (Beall et al, 2004).…”

Characteristics of children under 2 years of age undergoing tonsillectomy for upper airway obstruction

“…Another potential cofounding factor is that our study took place in altitude; many studies have showed lower mean oxygen saturation in wake and sleep states at high altitudes in adults and neonates [49,50]. By incorporating an oxygen saturation nadir into a severity scale, one would anticipate more patients will be diagnosed with severe OSA in our sample compared to a population of patients at sea level due to the lower partial pressure of oxygen at altitude.…”

The Use of Pulse Oximetry in Pediatric Emergency Department: Review

“…[7][8][9] Orta rakımlı yerlerde SO 2 biraz daha düşüktür (ortalama %97-98, -2SD %93-96) ve yüksek rakımlara çıkıldıkça daha da azalır (>3.000 m; ortalama %86-91, -2SD %74-82). 5,6,[10][11][12] Çocukların çoğunun SO 2 değerleri, 24 saat içinde ilerleyici bir dalgalanma gösterir. En düşük değerler sabah erken saatlerde görülürken; en yük-sek değerler akşamüstü saatlerinde görülür.…”