Pulse Oximetry Detects Neonatal Heart Defects

Pulse oximetry is effective in detecting duct-dependent congenital heart disease in newborns and could be a valuable tool for clinical diagnosis, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Gothenberg (Sweden) have developed a new and powerful method for detecting duct-dependent congenital heart defects by measuring a newborn's oxygen level in the right hand and one foot simultaneously, with Masimo (Irvine, CA, USA) signal extraction technology (SET) pulse oximetry. The study showed that congenital cardiovascular defects could be detected with more than 90% confidence. The study concluded that a high-performance new-generation oximeter, with improved performance during low perfusion states and resistance to motion artifacts, is the key to enable screening with both a high sensitivity and a low false-positive rate. The study was published in the November 2005 edition of Acta Paediatrica.

This exciting technology has the potential for screening asymptomatic newborn infants for critical congenital heart defects. Other technologies have been limited by their sensitivity, perhaps related to errors related to patient motion, the very issue that Masimo SET addresses,” said Michael Liske, M.D., pediatric cardiologist at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN, USA). "The Masimo SET pulse oximeter would be the ideal tool for use in a large-scale study to determine if universal screening should be implemented.

Congenital cardiovascular defects are the most common type of congenital malformations in newborns. Many newborns die within days or are forever handicapped from congenital cardiovascular defects that are undetected before discharge. At home, these babies seem to be suffering from flu, but in fact are suffering from congenital heart failure. With proper detection and treatment, including the ability to perform open heart surgery on neonates as young as one-day old, the prognosis for these newborns is excellent.



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