ABG Testing Is Best Strategy to Mitigate Hidden Hypoxemia Across Race, Gender

Background: Multiple studies have documented the limitations of pulse oximetry for detecting hypoxemia, especially in patients with darker skin. Pulse oximetry is recommended to supplement rather than replace arterial blood gas (ABG) testing for multiple reasons, including this disparity. Objective: To determine the association between ABG testing and patient demographics among critically ill patients. Design: Multicenter, retrospective cohort study. Methods: Data were obtained from the Duke Health database for years 2014 to 2019, Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-III) for years 2001to 2008, MIMIC-IV for years 2008 to 2019, and eICU Collaborative Research Database for years 2014 and 2015. In adult ICU patients, ICU admissions that were not the first within hospitalization and those lasting Results: 184,178 ICU admissions were included. Median age was 66 years, and median SOFA score was 5.0. A total of 63,526 (34.5%) had at least 1 ABG performed. Of the patients, 34.6 more...