Pulse oximetry for screening critical congenital heart disease in newborns

摘要

Background Pulse oximetry screening(POS) has been proposed as an effective,noninvasive,inexpensive tool allowing earlier diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease(CCHD).However,most neonates are discharged from the hospital without this evaluation in China.This study aimed at assessing the feasibility of POS for newborns in detecting CCHD in the department of obstetrics and neonatal intensive care unit(NICU).Methods POS was performed in 355 neonates born in the department of obstetrics or admitted to the NICU between January 2015 and June 2015.These neonates were divided into normal group,mild congenital heart disease group(MCHD) and CCHD group,according to the result of echocardiography or computerized tomography(CT).The gestational age,birth weight and arterial oxygen saturation(SpO_2) were compared among the three groups.The SpO_2 value and diagnosis time of the CCHD cases were classified and analyzed.Results The premature birth and low birth weight were the high risk factors of mild congenital heart disease.There was no difference(P > 0.05) in SpO_2 between the MCHD group and the normal group.Significant difference in the SpO_2 appeared between the CCHD group and the normal group(P < 0.05).Combination of POS and clinical examination can reduce the missing diagnosis rate in screening for CCHD.Conclusions POS incurs very low cost and risk of harm and is not required for special training,therefore,an effective way to identify CCHD in neonates.