Pulse oximetry in clinical forensic practice

The potential role of a hand held battery operated digital pulse oximeter was investigated on 270 consecutive patients seen by one forensic medical examiner. An oxygen saturation reading on air was obtained on 236 patients (87%). Of the patients in whom the pulse oximeter could not provide a reading, the principal reason for being unable to record a value was lack of patient cooperation (26 of the 34 patients). Of the 236 oxygen saturations recorded, 234 were 95% or higher. The two patients with lower readings (83% and 93%) required assessment and treatment at hospital: one for an opioid overdose, the other for pneumonia. The modern generation of hand held pulse oximeters can provide very useful information in a challenging environment and should occupy a definite corner of the forensic medical examiner’s medical bag.