Published in:
Open Access
01-12-2022 | Review
Pulse oximetry, racial bias and statistical bias
Authors:
Martin J. Tobin, Amal Jubran
Published in:
Annals of Intensive Care
|
Issue 1/2022
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Excerpt
On November 21, 2021, the British Health Minister, Sajid Javid, published an article in the
Sunday Times pointing out that pulse oximeters tend to be inaccurate in patients with dark skin pigmentation [
1]. The Minister remarked that “technologies are created and developed by people, and so bias, however inadvertent, can be an issue here too.” The article attracted immediate and widespread attention, being covered by newspapers and television channels around the world. Mr. Javid expanded on his concerns during interviews with Andrew Maar on the
BBC and Trevor Phillips on
Sky News. …