Will Nail Polish Affect Blood Oxygen Saturation Readings?
When taking blood oxygen saturation measurements, we usually mention that nail polish affects blood oxygen saturation readings, but what is the truth? A new study at the European Congress of Anaesthesiology held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2018 Studies have shown that dyed nails, such as acrylic nails or nail polish, do not affect the readings of digital pulse oximeters used to monitor a patient's blood oxygen saturation (SpO2).
Digital oximeters are often used to measure the oxygen level in a patient's blood, but some external factors may affect their readings during the measurement process. Usually we think that nail polish or acrylic fake nails will affect the readings. The blood oxygen probe of the digital oximeter measures by wrapping the finger including the nail part. Light is being emitted on the side facing the nail, which is detected by a sensor on the far side of the fingertip. Since changes in SpO2 levels can affect the extent and type of medical intervention and affect patient monitoring in intensive care and anesthesia, it is critical to determine whether nail treatment affects DPO readings.
The research was carried out by Dr James Purcell and colleagues at University College Cork and Victoria Medical University Hospital Cork South, Ireland. The aim was to investigate the attitudes and approaches of healthcare professionals on this issue and to experimentally evaluate the effect of nail treatments on SpO2 measurements under different physiological conditions. The nail care methods studied by the team are mainly acrylic fake nails and nail polish of different colors.
The team conducted a questionnaire-based survey of clinical staff at four university hospitals to assess their knowledge and opinions about how artificial nails and nail polish affect clinical decisions related to DPO. They also conducted an experiment on 12 volunteers to analyze the effect of different colors of nail polish and popular brands of acrylic nails on SpO2 under different physiological conditions (healthy, venous congestion and venous constriction). Congestion was simulated by restricting blood flow with a blood pressure cuff, while contractions were simulated by immersing the subject's hand in 10-degree cold water for 10 minutes.
A total of 86 respondents (55 physicians, 21 nurses) responded to the questionnaire, of which 45% indicated that nail treatment affects the way they practice clinically. More than 30% of respondents intervened to remove nail polish or fake nails while taking measurements to prevent it from affecting oximeter readings.
The experimental portion of the study found that none of the nail treatments examined caused more than a 1% change in SpO2 readings compared to untreated nails under either physiological condition. In addition, none of the treatments resulted in SpO2 falling below 95%.
"Because health care workers have little or no knowledge about digital oximeters for fingernails," the authors write, "what to do with them varies." They suggest that hospitals should develop policies that prior to using oximeters , it is not necessary to request any nail polish or fake nails other than those examined in this study.
They concluded: "The experimental data suggest that nail makeup in the trial did not significantly affect the difference in blood oxygen readings and therefore had no clinical impact on patient care."