Black Covid patients need more accurate oxygen tests, experts say

DOCTORS are calling for pulse oximeters, used by the NHS to monitor Covid symptoms, to be replaced with more “inclusive” technology after a study found they were three times less accurate for black patients.

The NHS has given out 300,000 of the devices to patients at home to monitor their oxygen levels and prevent “silent hypoxia”, a condition where oxygen levels can drop to fatally low levels.

However, last week the US Food and Drug Administration said the technology may be less accurate for patients with dark skin tones, citing a study that found the detection of low blood oxygen levels was three times less likely among black patients than white.

“There is definitely a pool of patients that is at risk,” said Dr Joseph Hartland, of the University of Bristol. “Ideally we would replace [pulse oximeters] with something that was inclusive for all.”

The readers have been called “lifesaving”, as patients can seek help when they notice oxygen levels dropping. Dr Keir Philip, a respiratory doctor in London, said pulse oximetry was “saving lots of people’s lives”, but he had noticed “suboptimal accuracy” for patients coming out of intensive care, 67 per cent of whom were from black, Asian and minority ethnicities. He called for more research to be done to enable manufacturers to adjust the technology.

An NHS spokesman said the service had received no reports of incorrect readings, and while the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency monitored the performance of the devices, clinicians were “aware of the limitations of pulse oximetry”. The MHRA was approached for comment.