Are Pulse Oximeters Racist? What I Learned About Health Equity And Structural Racism at ATS 2023

LungFIT: Pulmonary Rehab Podcast

ARE PULSE OXIMETERS RACIST? WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT HEALTH EQUITY AND STRUCTURAL RACISM AT ATS 2023

On this episode I share some of what I learned about health equity and structural racism while at the American Thoracic Society conference in Washington, DC, with a focus on spirometry reference equations and pulse oximetry.

I mention several papers in this episode, here they are with their links.

Baugh AD, Shiboski S, Hansel NN, et al. Reconsidering the utility of race-specific lung function prediction equations. Amer J Respir Crit Care Med 2021; 205(7): 819-829.

Henry NR, Hanson AC, Schulte PJ, et al. Disparities in hypoxemia detection by pulse oximetry across self-identified racial groups and associations with clinical outcomes. Crit Care Med 2022; 50(2): 204-211.

Fawzy A, Tianshi DW, Wang K et al. Racial and ethnic discrepancy in pulse oximetry and delayed identification of treatment eligibility among patients with COVID-19. JAMA Intern Med 2022; 182(7): 730-738.

Jubran A, Tobin MJ. Reliability of pulse oximetry in titrating supplemental oxygen therapy in ventilator-dependent patients. Chest 1990; 97(6): 1420-1425.