Newborn Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening Using Pulse Oximetry: Value and Unique Challenges in Developing Regions

Abstract

Newborn screening for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) is recommended for implementation in many developed countries as the standard of care. Efforts to implement this point of care screen in developing regions face unique barriers, and present important opportunities. The First Pan-African Newborn Screening Conference, held in Rabat in June 2019, incorporated a workshop dedicated specifically to identifying and discussing CCHD screening issues in the Middle East Northern Africa (MENA) region. The issues explored may be beneficial as part of the greater discussion of CCHD screening’s growing importance in developing regions around the world. Screening experts presented education and lessons learned from previous CCHD implementations, including a hands-on technical demonstration of CCHD screening. Children’s HeartLink, The Newborn Foundation, and Children’s National Hospital each presented on their experiences working with teams and pilot projects from around the world. Experience in implementation from Children’s Hospital Marrakesh was presented and highlighted some of the unique findings, challenges, and experiences of screening in Morocco. As developing regions investigate the implementation of CCHD screening using pulse oximetry either as part of research studies, pilots, regional studies, or as part of a nationally supported program, data to inform policymakers on the benefits of screening and specific needs for infrastructure development and resources are essential. This special issue contains initial lessons learned on newborn CCHD screening from a select number of developing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Morocco and regions such as Latin America.

Tamiz neonatal cardiaco: beneficios de su implementación en México

“…Estas variaciones se pueden considerar multifactoriales abarcando argumentos tan válidos como el reflejo de la mejora en los sistemas de salud global, mejor cobertura en vacunación, mayor acceso al agua potable, progresos en las acciones de salud materna, disminución de las enfermedades asociadas a la pobreza (enfermedades diarreicas), así como el incremento en el diagnóstico de pacientes con CC registrados al nacer y mayores tasas de necropsias en los casos de muerte perinatal, y no propiamente un incremento en la prevalencia de las CC. 14,27,28 Cerca de 90% de los niños que padecen algún tipo de CC, nacen en regiones con acceso limitado o nulo a la atención médica, donde la mortalidad sigue siendo elevada. 14 En América Latina, las CC representan la tercera causa de mortalidad en recién nacidos, ocasionando una de cada 40 muertes en menores de un año.…”

Acurácia da oximetria de pulso para triagem das cardiopatias congênitas: protocolo de revisão sistemática

“…Converging with the fact that approximately 50% of the most severe cases are diagnosed during prenatal care and the others, on average, by the sixth week of life (3) . It is important to point out that, in view of the decrease in infant mortality due to communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, such as congenital anomalies, especially CHD, began to appear significantly in the infant mortality scenario (4) . Critical CCs, according to their physiology, are dependent channels, resulting ONLINE BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF NURSING, 21 Suppl 1:e20226610 in an association between systemic and pulmonary circulation with a reduction in peripheral saturation.…”