Objective The aims of this study were to: (i) Determine in preterm infants at neonatal discharge the prevalence of intermittent hypoxia (IH), as measured by the oxygen desaturation index (DSI) recorded by pulse oximetry and (ii) Determine the change in values for very preterm infants at 1‐month post discharge. Methods Preterm infants were recruited from the Wellington regional neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 24‐h pulse oximetry recordings performed immediately before discharge. Infants born <32 weeks gestational age (GA) had repeat oximetry 1‐month post discharge. Oxygenation measures included the 3% and 4% desaturation (DSI 3%, DSI 4%) indices. Results At discharge from the neonatal unit the median and interquartile range (IQR) for DSI 4% was 51 (31‐74) events per hour with normal mean SpO2 (median of 97.9% [97.2‐98.8 IQR]). Episodes of IH 1 month post discharge decreased with improvements of between 42% and 57% seen for the three DSI measures. Infants <32 weeks GA had higher median DSI 3 and 4% values at discharge but differences when compared with late preterm infants were not significant. Conclusions Preterm infants have frequent episodes of IH as measured by the 3% and 4% DSI when deemed otherwise ready for discharge home. Further research in a larger cohort of very preterm infants and also in term infants is needed to determine the significance of this finding.

We recommend that oximetry recordings to determine cardiorespiratory stability in newborn infants ready for discharge from the neonatal unit have software editing features applied. This will remove artefact without consuming time in a busy unit.

These findings indicate a need for guidelines to standardise preterm infant oximetry monitoring at neonatal discharge. Further research is required to determine the utility of predischarge oximetry and to establish which infants should be screened.

Aim: To compare the overnight 12-hour oximetry component of 24-hour oximetry recordings with the complete 24-h recording in terms of cardiorespiratory status data in preterm infants. Methods: Preterm infants from the Wellington neonatal intensive care unit underwent a 24-h pulse oximetry recording immediately prior to discharge home. Each recording was edited to resemble a 12-h overnight recording and compared to the full 24-h recording. Differences in a range of cardiorespiratory variables were assessed as to whether they were statistically significant and, if so, likely to be clinically significant. Results: The nadirs for heart rate and SpO 2 (both P < 0.001), the time spent <80% SpO 2 (P = 0.017) and highest heart rate (P < 0.001) were significantly different between the two recordings. Only the heart rate nadir differed by more than 5%, suggesting that this may be of clinical significance (median (interquartile range) 54 (28-69) for 24-h recording vs. 78 (54-96) for 12-h recording). Conclusion:The 24-h oximetry reports were clinically similar to 12-h recordings for the majority of variables, and therefore, we suggest that 12-h oximetry studies are sufficient for determining cardiorespiratory status in infants.

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