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Episodes of desaturation that occur only while the child is feeding or sleeping?
Oxygen saturation during feeding or while sleeping often dips below the baseline. Feeding and sleeping may be stress tests for desaturation. Normal children monitored during sleep have occasional oxygen saturation nadirs below 93%, and even dipping below 90% is not uncommon. In infants with respiratory illnesses who are asleep, there is no consensus, nor are there data, on whether an oxygen saturation of 90% to 92% for a brief period portends future deterioration or respiratory failure.
Sources
Urschitz MS, Wolf J, Von Einem V, et al: Reference values for nocturnal home pulse oximetry during sleep in primary school children. Chest 2003;123(1):96-102.
