Pulse oximetry, a non-invasive procedure that measures the amount of
oxygen in the bloodstream, can be used as a screening tool to detect
critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in infants, and is more readily
available than echocardiography, the current gold standard for CCHD
diagnosis, according to a new research abstract presented Friday, Oct.
14, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and
Exhibition (NCE) in Boston.
In September, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added
pulse oximetry to the list of core screening standards; however, no
research has been conducted that looks at the availability of these
devices, or their frequency of use.
Researchers surveyed nurse managers and administrators at 88 of the
99 Wisconsin hospitals which routinely deliver newborns. All responding
hospitals had pulse oximetry available in the nursery, of which 28.4
percent (representing one-third of all newborns in Wisconsin) routinely
used this device to screen for CCHD. In contrast, same-day
echocardiography was available at only 37.5 percent of the responding
hospitals. More than 26 percent of births occurred in a facility where
same-day neonatal echocardiography was not available, with the average
distance to a higher-level care facility of choice being 53.1 miles.
"There is a large body of literature on pulse oximetry as a
screening tool for critical congenital heart disease from Europe;
however, there is very little population-based information on this type
of screening in the health care systems of the United States," said lead
study author Daniel J. Beissel, MD.
"Although the use of pulse oximetry is a relatively new tool in
screening for critical congenital heart disease, its use is expanding
rapidly," said Dr. Beissel. "The implementation of pulse oximetry is
likely to expand further as more and more states pass legislation
requiring this type of screening in all newborns."
