Screening Newborns for Critical Congenital Heart Disease with Pulse Oximetry

Objective To explore the accuracy and validity of detecting critical congenital heart disease (cCHD))by Pulse oximetry screening (POS). Method 331 neonates were monitored by POS and perform echocardiography or computerized tomography(CT) from June 2011 to December 2011. They were divided into 3 groups: the normal group include 125 case; the mild congenital heart disease group include 86 case; the cCHD group include 120 case. The gestational age, birth weight and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) were compared between the three groups. The SpO2 value and diagnosis time of the cCHD cases were classified and analyzed. Result The premature birth and low birth weight were the high risk factors of mild congenital heart disease. The SpO2 difference between the mild congenital heart disease group and the normal group was no Significant(P 0.05).Significant difference appeared in the SpO2 between the cCHD group and the normal group(P 0.05). Combining POS and Clinical Examination in screening for cCHD, can play a role in reducing the missing diagnosis rate. Conclusions POS is simple, practicable and unnecessary for special training, POS can be an effective way to screen cCHD.