A study showed that the devices, which measure oxygen levels in the blood, were three times more likely to give misleading readings among African-American patients.

Pulse oximeters are one of the most commonly used tools in medicine. The small devices, which resemble a clothespin, measure blood oxygen when clipped onto a fingertip, and they can quickly indicate whether a patient needs urgent medical care.

Health providers use them when they take vital signs and when they evaluate patients for treatment. Ever since the pandemic started, doctors have encouraged patients with Covid to use them at home.

But in Black patients, the devices can provide misleading results in more than one in 10 people, according to a new study.

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