According to a JAMA Internal Medicine study, patients of color and Latinos experienced delays in receiving life-saving Covid-19 treatment. This was due to a popular medical device which incorrectly interprets darker skin tones.
According to the report, pulse oximeters (a device that attaches to the fingertips of a patient and measures oxygen levels) are more likely than white patients to give inaccurate results. Researchers found that the device can make patients of color appear more healthy than they really are.
Tianshi Wu, a coauthor of the study and an assistant professor of pulmonary disease at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, stated to NBC News that “not only were they less accurate but also in particular, they were more optimistic.” This bias in pulse oximetry made minority patients appear healthier than they actually were, according to this study.
According to the report, these inaccuracies can make it more difficult for patients of color receive appropriate Covid-19 treatment and could lead to worse outcomes. The devices measure the amount of light absorbed by the skin to determine a person’s oxygen level. Previous studies have shown that darker skin and dark nails can alter the readings.
This new study comes as Blacks and Latinos continue to make up a large proportion of Covid-19-related deaths.
Ashraf Fawzy is a co-author in the study. He is also a professor of medicine at John Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore.
This medical device has been criticized for its racial bias since the 1990s. There have been numerous reports of disparities going back as far as the 1990s. In 2020, a similar report found that the device could give false readings to Black patients more often than white patients.
To fix the problem, researchers suggested that the technology of this device be improved. They also suggested an alternative: arterial blood gas. This is an invasive, painful option that tests oxygen saturation levels via a blood test through an artery.
Wu stated, “We don’t believe the problem is that technology can’t do it.” Wu stated, “We believe the problem is that the industry has no will to solve this.”
He said, “The unfortunate result of that is that the pulse Oxygen saturation is considered to be a vital sign and it’s not more important than in Covid where the severity and definition of Covid are determined and defined based upon what someone’s oxygen saturation.”
Researchers believe this device is critical in the medical system and requires changes.
Fawzy stated that “we can’t get rid of it”, adding that the industry needs to “be aware of it until it can be fixed.”