Neonatal Pulse Oximetry Disparities Due to Skin Pigmentation (Neo-PODS)

May 14, 2026 updated by: University of California, Davis
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if pulse oximeters show an SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy that correlates with skin pigmentation such that pulse oximetry will overestimate oxygenation in newborns with darker skin. The main questions it aims to answer is if SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy varies with the degree of skin pigmentation among neonates, if gestational age has an influence on SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy, and if packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion has an influence on SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy in newborns with various degrees of light and dark skin. Researchers will compare SaO2 and SpO2 values in neonates of various skin pigmentation.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Investigators will use a multicenter prospective cohort approach to measure SpO2 and SaO2 simultaneously in newborns of varying degrees of light and dark skin. The investigators will enroll 163 newborns of varying degrees of light and dark skin to assess the impact of skin pigmentation on the accuracy of pulse oximetry. Data collection will occur during routine blood samples and will involve simultaneous measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry and additional data extraction from the EHR. The study consists of 4 main components: (1) Skin pigment classification (2) Race and ethnicity classification (3) SpO2 measurement collection (4) EMR data collection (including newborn screen hemoglobin type assessment and transfusion records). After adjusting for SaO2, the SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy will correlate with skin pigmentation such that pulse oximetry will overestimate oxygenation in newborns with darker skin. The distribution of SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy will have more variance in the newborns with darker skin.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

163

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Sacramento, California, United States, 95817
        • UC Davis Health
    • Mississippi
      • Jackson, Mississippi, United States, 39216
        • University of Mississippi Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Newborns postnatal age < 10 days admitted to intensive care unit
  • Presence of arterial catheter or undergoing arterial stick blood gas sampling

Exclusion Criteria:

  • <26 weeks corrected gestational age (After May 2024, infants <26 weeks corrected GA were excluded due to skin irritation with sensor removal, those enrolled earlier were included in the analysis)
  • Presence of abnormal hemoglobin (including methemoglobin > 3%) - likely to only be known after enrolled and the blood gas is obtained
  • Those in whom SpO2 cannot be measured in the same extremity as the arterial catheter.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Enrolled Participant
During routine arterial blood gas sampling, a coordinator will measure SpO2 from a similar extremity. SpO2 data will be recorded using Masimo Radical-7 oximeters. To minimize ambient light interference or optical cross talk from other SpO2 sensors, all the SpO2 sensors will be fully shielded with cloth wraps provided by Masimo. Each enrolled infant will undergo simultaneous blood gas sampling and SpO2 measurement for each routine blood gas collected. Up to a total of 10 SpO2 measurements will be collected, paired with 10 blood gas samples collected as part of routine care, though We anticipate about 3 paired samples (SaO2 and SpO2) per enrolled infant.
Device: Enrolled Participant
Participant will undergo at most 10 SpO2 measurements paired with at most 10 routine blood gas samples.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the influence of packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion on SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy in newborns with various degrees of light and dark skin.
Time Frame: Through study completion, about 2 years
Many infants in the NICU setting are transfused PRBC with hemoglobin A, which shifts the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve to the right. While the effect of this shift on pulse oximetry is studied, the combined impact of skin pigmentation and transfusion is not known. The investigators will test the hypothesis that PRBC transfusion increases the impact of skin pigmentation on SaO2- SpO2 discrepancy. The investigators will calculate the SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy and correlate it with the skin pigmentation measurement and frequency of PRBC transfusion.
Through study completion, about 2 years
Determine if SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy varies with the degree of skin pigmentation among neonates.
Time Frame: Through study completion, about 2 years
Using a prospective cohort of 163 newborns, the investigators will calculate simultaneous SaO2-SpO2 discrepancy and correlate it with a measure of skin pigmentation (melanin index: Fitzpatrick Scale, Massey-Martin scale and ITA: individual Typology Angle) among neonates with and without hypoxemia.
Through study completion, about 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of California, Davis

Collaborators

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 2, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 25, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

October 2, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1840688

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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