O₂ Saturation as a Screening Test for Critical Congenital Heart Disease

To investigate the utility of pulse oximetry as a screening tool for critical congenital heart disease, the investigators from Baltimore and Gainesville determined arm and leg oxygen saturations in 2,876 newborns from 2 well baby nurseries over an 18-month period. Concurrently, 32 newborns with known critical congenital heart disease were similarly evaluated. Using the criteria of either leg oxygen saturation less than 92% or arm saturation greater than leg saturation by 7%, 57 abnormal readings were identified among the 2,876 well babies. Of these 57, 4 had critical heart disease, including coarctation of the aorta, transposition of the great arteries, tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, and severe pulmonary valve stenosis. One other baby had persistent pulmonary hypertension of the …