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Do Artificial Nails and Nail Polish Interfere with the Accurate Measurement of Oxygen Saturation by Pulse Oximetry?

CSEF · 2006 Materials Science (Junior Division Only)

Otana A. Jakpor · Woodcrest Christian School, Riverside

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective was to determine whether or not artificial nails & nail polish interfere with the accurate measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. A pulse oximeter works by shining light through the nail, so I hypothesized that artificial nails & nail polish would interfere. My purpose is to provide data to aid decision-making by medical personnel faced with caring for patients wearing nail polish with acute asthma. Fumes from removing nail polish can cause asthma to worsen. Methods/Materials I did three experiments. In Experiment 1, I tested 23 subjects to find the effect of 6 colors of artificial nails. I left one fingernail bare as a control. I measured the O2 sat on each test finger & subtracted each subject's color reading from their control reading. I calculated the mean change in O2 sat reading, standard deviation, standard error of the mean, & 95% confidence intervals. I repeated this experiment using two different brands of pulse oximeters-Nonin & Nellcor. In Experiment 2, I tested the effect of the same six colors of nail polish painted directly on the nails of 23 subjects. In Experiment 3, I tested the effect of 27 colors of nail polish on one subject. Results I found most colors of artificial nails & nail polish have little or no significant effect on the measurement of O2 sat. In Experiment 1 (Nonin), only the wine-colored artificial nails caused a statistically significant drop-only 0.44% +/- 0.42%. In Experiment 2 (Nonin), there were also trivial drops in O2 sat reading when fingers with blue, pink, & white nail polish were tested. These drops were too small to have much clinical significance, especially because the pulse oximeter itself has a range of error of +/- 2 % pts. In both Experiments 1 & 2, the Nellcor pulse oximeter readings did not have any statistically significant change with any color. In Experiment 3, I tested 27 colors of nail polish & found little change. Conclusions/Discussion Most artificial nails & nail polish do not interfere with the accurate measurement of O2 saturation by pulse oximetry. This study contradicts the widely held view of uninformed medical personnel that nail polish interferes with the accurate measurement of O2 sat. A Medline search shows no previously published studies on colored artificial nails & pulse oximetry. The colored artificial nail study is original research that I hope contributes valuable new information to the medical community.

Summary statement

I determined in this study that most artificial nails and nail polish have little or no effect on the accurate measurement of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry.

Help received

I performed all experiments for my project. My mother helped me understand the technology of pulse oximetry and lent me her pulse oximeters. My parents helped edit my writing. Mr. Falk, a statistics teacher at Woodcrest Christian School, reviewed my statistical calculations.

Awards (1)

  • Category Award

Competition history

  • CSEF 2006 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1116

Resources

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