In contrast to spirometry, SpCO a noninvasive measurement easily obtained from Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximeters and sensors already used in many hospitals does not require patient instruction or breathing effort. As a result, SpCO may help to improve the assessment of asthma severity and response to treatment in young children and patients who are unconscious, heavily sedated, unable to understand and follow instructions, or have limitations that would interfere with vigorous respiratory efforts.
We have limited measures to assess severity of acute asthma exacerbations and the finding of an association between carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO) by multi-wavelength Pulse CO-Oximeter may have clinical importance, stated Donald H. Arnold, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. Our preliminary results suggest that SpCO is a measure of oxidative stress and inflammation in pediatric patients with acute asthma exacerbations.
Dr. Arnold and colleagues at Vanderbilt used the Masimo Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter to measure SpCO in 139 children (5-10 years of age) during acute asthma exacerbations and 2-hours after initiation of corticosteroid and bronchodilator treatment. Comparing SpCO measurements to conventional measures of airway obstruction and inflammation, researchers found a significant association between SpCO and percent predicted Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second (%FEV1, p = 0.001) and airway resistance (p = 0.04), as well as a trend with exhaled nitric oxide (eNO, p = 0.1). Study findings showed that for every 6% increase in SpCO, there was an associated 79% proportionate decrease in lung function (%FEV1, p=0.015) and a trend indicating SpCO may predict lung function after 2-hours of treatment, as measured by the change in %FEV1 (p = 0.06). Researchers concluded that SpCO may represent a noninvasive, effort-independent measure of acute asthma disease severity as assessed by physiologic measures.
Masimo Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs, Dr. Michael O’Reilly, stated, This study adds new evidence that expands the value of Masimo’s Pulse CO-Oximetry SpCO measurement. The researchers at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital have shown that the ability to easily and quickly perform SpCO measurements on almost any patient without cooperation or risk has the potential to enable more immediate, accurate, and reliable asthma severity assessment.
