Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41534914›Full record

Observational studyBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2026

The impact of skin tone on performance of pulse oximeters used by NHS England COVID Oximetry @home scheme: measurement and diagnostic accuracy study.

Daniel S Martin, James C Doidge, Doug Gould, Tasnin Shahid, Alex Cowden, Walton N Charles, Amelia Francis Johnson, Roger Garrett, Catherine Mbema, Olusegun Olusanya and 5 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05481515 (A Study Within a Trial to Determine the Effect of Skin Tone on the Diagnostic Accuracy of Pulse Oximeters), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05481515 completednot on this map

A Study Within a Trial to Determine the Effect of Skin Tone on the Diagnostic Accuracy of Pulse Oximeters

TypeobservationalSponsorIntensive Care National Audit & Research CentreRan2022 to 2024Enrolled903ConditionsCritical Illness, HypoxemiaArmsPulse oximetry, Spectrophotometry
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Daniel S MartinPeninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6220-8235
James C DoidgeClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3674-3100
Doug GouldClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4148-3312
Tasnin ShahidClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4320-6140
Alex CowdenClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0009-0000-3776-8601
Walton N CharlesClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6012-5783
Amelia Francis JohnsonClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0009-0007-4515-4299
Roger GarrettIndependent patient advisor, Bristol, UK.
Catherine MbemaLewisham Council, London, UK.
Olusegun OlusanyaDepartment of Perioperative Medicine, St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9667-658X
Eugene HealyDermatopharmacology, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5591-6970
Kathryn RowanClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8217-5602
Paul MounceyClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8510-8517
David A HarrisonClinical Trials Unit, Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9002-9098
EXAKT Study Investigators

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess the impact of skin tone on the measurement and diagnostic accuracy of five fingertip pulse oximeters used by patients in the NHS (National Health Service) England COVID Oximetry @home scheme.

designMeasurement and diagnostic accuracy study (exploring pulse oximeter accuracy across skin tones-EXAKT).

settingTwenty four intensive care units in England between June 2022 and August 2024.

participants903 critically ill adults admitted to intensive care units screened for or enrolled into a trial evaluating different approaches to oxygen therapy.

interventionsPulse oximetry derived peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO

main outcome measuresPulse oximeter measurement accuracy was assessed for bias, precision, and overall accuracy. Diagnostic accuracy for identifying SaO

results11 018 paired SpO

conclusionsFive pulse oximeters provided by the NHS England COVID Oximetry @home scheme yielded higher SpO

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05481515.

Indexed as

COVID-19OximetrySkin PigmentationAdultAgedCritical IllnessEnglandFemaleHumansIntensive Care UnitsMaleMiddle AgedOxygen SaturationState Medicine

Identifiers

PMID41534914
PMCPMC12801414

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.