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Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening

In the United States, about 4,800 (or 11.6 per 10,000) babies are born every year with CCHD. These babies are at significant risk if this condition goes undiagnosed.1Existing screening methods still miss up to 30% of cases; the addition of pulse oximetry screening increases detection to over 90%.2

Since 1993, Nellcor™ pulse oximetry technology has been utilized on more than 33,000 newborns spanning five separate clinical studies evaluating the use of pulse oximetry for critical congenital heart disease screening.3,4,5,6,7

Using Nellcor™ pulse oximetry screening has been shown to be a simple and economical tool to aid healthcare providers in CCHD screening.6 The convenient Nellcor™ portable SpO2 patient monitoring system, PM10N, delivers accurate, reliable SpO2 and pulse rate values even during patient motion, and can communicate this information in trend report for data analysis. The ability to accurately measure O2 saturation and heart rate through motion is necessary for an effective CCHD screening. The portability of the system, allows for easy access to the monitor by clinicians and the opportunity for tandem screenings. This enhanced functionality provides information and accuracy clinicians can rely on for this important screening.

Car Seat Challenge Test

The role of SpO2 monitoring in the Car Seat Challenge

For their safety, all new babies are required to leave the hospital in a car seat if they are traveling by car. However, for premature babies improper positioning in child safety restraint systems can possibly lead to respiratory compromise. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, as part of the discharge process, each preterm infant born less than 37 weeks gestational age should have a period of observation in a car safety seat before hospital discharge to monitor for possible apnea, bradycardia or oxygen desaturation. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a Car Seat Challenge Test prior to discharge for infants born less than 37 weeks' gestation.8

The convenient Nellcor™ portable SpO2 patient monitoring system, PM10N, delivers accurate, reliable SpO2 and pulse rate values even during patient motion, and can communicate this information in trend report for data analysis. The ability to accurately measure O2 saturation and heart rate through motion is necessary for an effective Car Seat Challenge Test. The portability of the system, allows for easy access to the monitor by clinicians. Clinicians can feel confident using the portable, reliable Nellcor™ portable SpO2 patient monitoring system for this life-saving patient assessment.

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  • 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pulse Oximetry Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Defects Available at:http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/screening.html.  
  • 2. Ewer AK. Review of pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects.Curr Opin Cardiol 2013; 28: 92–96
  • 3. Hoke, T.R., et al., Oxygen saturation as a screening test for critical congenital heart disease: a preliminary study. Pediatr Cardiol, 2002 Jul-Aug. 23(4): p. 403-9.
  • 4. Reich, J.D., et al., The use of pulse oximetry to detect congenital heart disease. J Pediatr, 2003 Mar. 142(3): p. 268-72.
  • 5. Arlettaz, R., et al., The contribution of pulse oximetry to the early detection of congenital heart disease in newborns. Eur J Pediatr, 2006 Feb. 165(2): p. 94-8.
  • 6. Sendelbach, D.M., et al., Pulse oximetry screening at 4 hours of age to detect critical congenital heart defects. Pediatrics, 2008 Oct. 122(4): p. e815-20.
  • 7. Walsh, W., Evaluation of pulse oximetry screening in Middle Tennessee: cases for consideration before universal screening. J Perinatol, 2011 Feb. 31(2): p. 125-9.
  • 8. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx
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