Title: Corience: Pulse oximetry as tool to detect critical congenital heart defects
Headings: Pulse oximetry as tool to detect critical congenital heart defects
Pulse oximetry as tool to detect critical congenital heart defects
Critical congenital heart disease
Hypoxemia as common feature
Pulse oximetry to detect hypoxemia in newborn infants
Open questions and problems
Recommendations and Conclusions of AHA and AAP

Content: This tool is already in routine use in neonatal intensive care units or emergency departments. There have already been several smaller studies on this aspect, and it is now suggested that it is used routinely for the assessment of newborn children as well. Open questions and problems
When it comes to using pulse oximetry routinely for newborn assessment, some matters still have to be clarified. For example, a point in time has to be defined when this examination should be performed. According to AHA and AAP, measurements are ideally made soon after the first 24 hours of life because there are considerable variations in oxygen saturation before that. Controversial results were also achieved by different studies with respect to a threshold value below which hypoxemia can be assumed. According to the two organisations, hypoxemia is present if the oxygen saturation is below 95%. Another question concerns the positioning of the probe to measure the oxygen saturation. This can be done either at the hand or foot of the newborn infant. AHA and AAP recommend positioning the probe at the foot.