CCHD & Pulse Oximetry Screening in Newborns

Approximately 1 in 500 babies is born with a critical congenital heart defect (CCHD). These babies are at a significant risk if this condition goes undiagnosed.([FOOTNOTE=Scott D. Grosse, PhD1; Tiffany Riehle-Colarusso, MD1; Marcus Gaffney, MPH1; Craig A. Mason, PhD2; Stuart K. Shapira, MD, PhD1; Marci K. Sontag, PhD3; Kim Van Naarden Braun, PhD1,4; John Iskander, MD5. CDC Grand Rounds: Newborn Screening for Hearing Loss and Critical Congenital Heart Disease. 2017;66(33);888–890.],[ANCHOR=Available at],[LINK=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6633a4.htm?s_cid=mm6633a4_w]) As it can cause serious, life-threatening symptoms, early detection and intervention is essential.

In 2017, the European Pulse Oximetry Screening Workgroup published a consensus in which they state that adopting POS at a national level across Europe will help improve management of these life threatening conditions.([FOOTNOTE=Paolo Manzoni, Gerard R Martin, Manuel Sanchez Luna, Julije Mestrovic, Umberto Simeoni, Luc Zimmermann, and others. Pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects: A European consensus statement. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2017;1(2), p8–90.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])

Screening should be performed with pulse oximeters that are motion tolerant, report functional oxygen saturation, have been validated in low perfusion conditions, have been cleared by the FDA for use in newborns and have accuracy of +/- 2 digits.([FOOTNOTE=Kemper AR, Mahle WT, Martin GR et al. Strategies for implementing screening for critical congenital heart disease. Pediatrics. 2011;128(5):e1259-1267],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])

Nellcor™ pulse oximetry technology specifies highly accurate readings in neonates, largely because it relies on cardiac-based signals to generate readings closely tied to the patient’s physiology. The result is consistent performance during a number of challenging conditions, including patient motion, noise and low perfusion, all of which can impede the assessment of oxygenation.

Using Nellcor™ pulse oximetry has been shown to be a simple and economical tool to aid healthcare providers in CCHD screening.