Nocturnal oximetry is a non-invasive medical test that monitors a patient’s blood oxygen level overnight, often recommended for patients with disordered sleep to determine if apnea contributes to poor sleep patterns. The patient wears a clip on their finger that records data on their blood oxygen level, which is analyzed by a doctor to determine if further testing is necessary. This test is an inexpensive alternative to comprehensive sleep studies and can be done at home.
Nocturnal oximetry is a medical test that involves monitoring a patient’s blood oxygen level over the course of one night. This test is non-invasive and can be done at home with specialized monitoring equipment. A doctor may recommend it to a patient with disordered sleep to determine if the apnea contributes to the patient’s poor sleep patterns. It is an inexpensive test that can provide some important background information for determining whether a patient needs additional screening, such as a sleep study at a hospital or clinic.
In the process of night oximetry, the patient puts a small clip on one of the fingers. The clip passes a light through your finger, collecting data on your blood oxygen level by recording the rate of light absorption as it passes through your finger. It feeds this information to a small recording box via a thin cable. Many patients secure the cord to their hand to prevent it from tangling during the night. At the end of the night, the patient can remove the clip and the overnight oximetry study is complete.
If the oxygen levels change during the night, as would be expected if the patient has sleep apnea, the change in readings will show on the data. A doctor can analyze study data to determine if there are any changes. The patient needs to keep a diary that the doctor can compare with the results; if the patient were to move the clip to a different finger, get up to use the restroom, answer the phone, or engage in other activities, it could skew the results and create a spike or drop in oxygen level.
The test results may suggest that the patient’s oxygen levels remain stable throughout the night. In this case, the nocturnal oximetry indicates that the patient’s sleep disturbance is not a result of the apnea and that something else, such as stress, may be causing the problem. If the results show changes in oxygenation levels, the patient may need more tests to address the possibility of apnea and develop a treatment plan that can help.
Diagnosing sleep apnea can be a complex process. Nocturnal oximetry provides an intermediate point that allows a physician to gather information at a low cost to determine if a patient appears to be experiencing oxygenation problems during the night. Comprehensive sleep studies can be very expensive, and providing an alternative test can help reduce costs for diagnosis and treatment. Patients may also find the test more enjoyable than a sleep study. It’s often difficult to sleep in a hospital or clinic, even in rooms designed for sleep studies, and testing is more intrusive.
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