Objective:Pulse oximetry has been recognized as a promising screening tool for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD). The aim of this research was to study the feasibility of implementation in a community hospital setting.Study Design:Meetings were conducted to determine an implementation plan. Pulse oximetry was performed on the right hand and foot after 24 h of age. Newborns with a saturation ⩽95% or a ⩾3% difference were considered to have a positive screen. Screening barriers, screening time and ability to effectively screen all eligible newborns were noted.Result:From January 2009 through May 2010, of 6841 eligible newborns, 6745 newborns (98.6%) were screened. Of the nine infants with positive pulse oximetry screens, one had CCHD, four had CHD and four others were determined to have false positive screens. Average screening time was 3.5 min (0 to 35 min).Conclusion:Pulse oximetry can be implemented successfully in community hospitals without an excessive number of false positives or additional nursing staff.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate newborn pulse oximetry screening (POS) outcomes at a large community hospital and the impact of the recommended revised POS algorithm.
METHODS
A retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the results of POS in the well-infant nursery between 2012 and 2020. The POS results were obtained from an electronic platform. Chart review was completed for newborns with failed screens. The recommended revision to POS, no second rescreen, was applied to the data to evaluate screening outcomes.
RESULTS
Of the total 65 414 infants admitted to the well-infant nursery during this 8-year period, >99% (n = 64 780) received POS. Thirty-one infants failed POS (4.6 per 10 000 screened). All infants who failed POS were found to have a disorder, with 12 (39%) having critical congenital heart disease (CCHD), 9 (29%) having non-CCHD requiring further follow-up, and 10 (32%) having noncardiac conditions. One false-negative screen result was identified through the Maryland Department of Health Newborn Screening Follow-up Program. The positive predictive value of POS for those screened was 39% for CCHD, with a specificity of 99.97%. Eliminating the second rescreen in the POS algorithm would have resulted in an additional 5 newborns without CCHD failing POS, increasing the false-positive rate from 0.03% to 0.04%.
CONCLUSIONS
POS is an effective tool for identifying CCHD and secondary conditions. POS was successfully implemented with few missed screens and was highly specific. Elimination of the second rescreen in the pulse oximetry algorithm would have resulted in a minimal increase in false-positive results and faster evaluation of newborns with CCHD.
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