CO poisoning and O2 sat

[Ven0m]

Haven't started doing UW yet but am wondering: CO poisoning gives a falsely normal SaO2 on pulse oximeter. But on the actual step 1, would it also give a falsely normal SaO2? Reason I'm asking is because goljan said if u use a special kind of oximeter in CO poisoning, it will give u the true O2 sat.

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[Save a life]

Your general SaO2 pulse ox reading will be normal in CO poisoning because of the way it reads hemoglobin and the light spectrum. However, there are more fancy pulse oximeters that can tell the difference because they are more sensitive to changes in the light spectrum.

Basically, on Step 1, it will come down to how they ask the question. If the vinette is describing classic CO poisoning (eg a guy working in a shop with a gas heater), then you should expect the SaO2 to be normal. However if the question mentions a special pulse ox or goes into detail about the wavelengths of light and the Sa02 or something then you might not pick that the Sa02 is normal. Make sense?

 

[Ven0m]

Your general SaO2 pulse ox reading will be normal in CO poisoning because of the way it reads hemoglobin and the light spectrum. However, there are more fancy pulse oximeters that can tell the difference because they are more sensitive to changes in the light spectrum.

Basically, on Step 1, it will come down to how they ask the question. If the vinette is describing classic CO poisoning (eg a guy working in a shop with a gas heater), then you should expect the SaO2 to be normal. However if the question mentions a special pulse ox or goes into detail about the wavelengths of light and the Sa02 or something then you might not pick that the Sa02 is normal. Make sense?

Got it. Thank you