Background: Despite its wide use in clinical practice, few studies had assessed the role of pulse oximetry in patients with heart failure. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the pulse oximeter in patients with heart failure and to determine this accuracy at three different sensor locations.Methods: Comparison of pulse oximetry reading (SpO2) with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) was reported in 3 groups of patients with heart failure (HF); those with ejection fraction (EF) >40%, those with EF <40%, and those with acute HF (AHF) with ST and non-ST segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI and non-STEMI).Results: A total of 235 patients and 90 control subjects were enrolled. There were significant differences in O2 saturation between control and patients’ groups when O2 saturation is measured at the finger and toe, but not the ear probes; p=0.029, p=0.049, and 0.051, respectively. In HF with EF>40% and AHF with O2 saturations >90%, finger oximetry is the most accurate and reliable, while in HF with EF<40% and in patients with AHF with O2 saturations <90%, ear oximetry is the most accurate.Conclusion: Pulse oximetry is a reliable tool in assessing oxygen saturation in patients with heart failure of different severity. In HF with EF>40% and in AHF with O2 saturations >90%, finger oximetry is the most accurate and reliable, while in HF with EF<40% and in patients with AHF with O2 saturations <90%, ear oximetry is the most accurate. Further studies are warranted.
Allovahlkampfia spelaea was identified for the first time in 2009. As a free living amoeba, it has been suggested to be a protective host for some bacterial pathogens against harsh environmental conditions and can transmit them to vulnerable hosts. We aimed in this study to test the interactions between Allovahlkampfia spelaea and some waterborne and foodborne bacteria and unravel if the tested bacteria can survive and multiply inside amoeba. We used a keratitis isolate of Allovahlkampfia spelaea grown in PYG medium containing proteose peptone, yeast extracts, and glucose. We examined amoeba interactions with Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli 1, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Citrobacter cloaca, Proteus mirabilis, Raoultella terrigena, Raoultella ornitholytica, Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the co-culture assays. Amoebal survival rate with different bacterial strains were determined. With the exception of Proteus mirabilis that showed decreased survival rates inside amoebal cells, other bacterial isolates could survive and multiply inside Allovahlkampfia spelaea that was associated with decreased survival rates of the amoeba. Particularly, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila and MRSA exhibited significantly increased multiplication rates inside amoeba. Our study demonstrated that Allovahlkampfia spelaea may act as a replicative host for pathogenic bacteria with environmental and clinical implications.
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