“A oximeter in every family as the thermometer», This is the advice of the Scientific technical committee before the spread of the coronavirus in Italy. The tool is essential for measuring oxygenation in the blood and promptly taking any pneumonia. Already during the first wave it was literally sold out and now it is recommended to buy one to help the doctor in remote diagnosis and limit hospitalization only to cases where it is necessary.
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“Pulse oximeters are extraordinarily useful – said the president of the Superior Health Council and member of the CTS, Franco Locatelli – to consider respiratory compromise even at the beginning, with low levels of oxygen saturation. The effort that will be discussed and that will be put in place – explained Locatelli – is to equip general practitioners and therefore infected subjects with pulse oximeters, avoiding critical situations of patients and therefore also the breathlessness of the emergency rooms of the hospitals “.
“Every family should have one, like the thermometer – he explained Luca Richeldi, member of the CTS and director of Pneumology at the Gemelli in Rome – It has to enter the paraphernalia of families like the thermometer that tells us if we have a fever. But if having 38 or 39 doesn’t make this difference, knowing instead the oxygen saturation value can tell us if we have ongoing pneumonia ».
Physiologically, the saturation is between 95 and 100%. Values between 90 and 95% indicate a condition of partial absence of oxygen, while those below 90% are pathological and therefore serious. The oximeter detects the presence of oxygen by applying a sort of ‘pliers’ to the last phalanx of a patient’s finger or, in some cases, to the earlobe. The monitor on the device will report the percentage and the calculation unit. It is a painless and non-invasive examination.
Last update: Sunday 1 November 2020, 13:47
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