Recorded sessions on demand will be available 24 hours after the session ends

Abstract Body

Routine pulse oximetry screening (POS) has been consistently shown to be a highly specific, moderately sensitive test for detecting critical congenital heart defects (CCHD) in asymptomatic newborn babies. POS meets the criteria for universal screening and an increasing number of countries across the world now recommend routine POS and it has been shown to reduce early mortality from CCHD by 33% when compared to existing screening methods such as antenatal ultrasound and postnatal examination.

POS has also been shown to identify asymptomatic babies with other important clinical conditions such as congenital pneumonia, pulmonary hypertension and early-onset sepsis. Although technically false positives for the screening test, identification of these potentially life-threatening conditions is an important additional clinical benefit of POS.

POS is acceptable to parents and clinical staff and does not increase parental anxiety even in the parents of false positives and has been shown to be cost-effective in a number of health care systems.

There are a number of possible algorithm options for cut-off levels for screening but most agree that testing both pre and post-ductal saturations is superior to a single post-ductal measurement. Earlier screening (within 24 hours of birth) has slightly more false positives than later screening but will identify more at-risk babies. Routine testing of homebirths is feasible and acceptable.

This talk with describe the current evidence supporting these statements, the pros and cons of different algoritms and how practice is changing across the UK and the rest of the world.