Early response to pulse oximetry alarms with telemetry.

Twenty ICU patients were monitored for an average of 45 hr each, with both bedside and nursing station monitors, which were set to alarm audibly if the patient's oxygen saturation dropped below 90%. Bedside alarms alerted caregivers to 51 of the 74 hypoxemic events; central alarms alerted personnel to the other 23 events. The alarms led to a change in treatment in 35 of the 48 (73%) true desaturation episodes. We conclude that central oximetric monitoring may help with detection of arterial desaturation events even in a well-staffed ICU.