Monitoring
All infants receiving supplemental oxygen should have continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring in place, and strong consideration should be given to continuously monitoring oxyhemoglobin saturation. It a desaturation, apneic, or bradycardic episode occurs, the infant should be rapidly assessed with special attention to the following questions:
Is the oxygen delivery system in place and functioning properly? That is, is the nasal cannula in place? Is the infant under the oxygen hood? Are the appropriate oxygen content and flow being delivered?
Has the clinical condition changed? Is more or additional support required?
Is the infant positioned properly?
If hemoglobin oxygen saturation remains high (>95 percent), the nurse should also assess if the level of oxygen delivery is too high or if the infant’s clinical condition has improved enough to initiate weaning him from the current level of supplemental oxygen support. Routine oxygen monitoring with an independent device is recommened to confirm the level of oxygen being delivered to the infant.