Title: Newborn Pulse Oximetry Screening to Detect Critical Congenital Heart Disease - HealthyChildren.org
Headings: Newborn Pulse Oximetry Screening to Detect Critical Congenital Heart Disease
Newborn Pulse Oximetry Screening to Detect Critical Congenital Heart Disease
What is pulse oximetry?
Fetal ultrasounds of the heart do not detect all types of heart defects.
How is this screening is done?
What happens a baby fails the pulse oximetry screening?
If a baby passes the pulse oximetry screening, does it mean he or she has no heart defects?
Even if a baby passes the pulse oximetry screening, parents should watch:
Additional Information & Resources:

Content: After the screening is completed, the doctor or nurse will go over the reading with the baby's parents. What happens a baby fails the pulse oximetry screening? If the screening test suggests a problem, additional testing to evaluate for CHD or for other potential causes of low oxygen will be necessary before the baby will be discharged from the hospital. Testing may include a chest radiography and bloodwork. A thorough ultrasound of the baby's heart called an echocardiogram will be performed and read by a pediatric cardiologist. The echo will evaluate all the structures and function of the baby's heart in detail. If the baby's echo shows any problems, the baby's medical team will discuss next steps with the parents in detail. See Common Types of Cardiac Testing for more information. Note: As with any screening test, sometimes there can be times when the pulse oximetry screening test is not correct.