European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Background: The incidence of congenital heart defect is 8-10/1000 live-births according to various reports from the different parts of the world.3 this incidence has remained constant worldwide.4 It is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in infants worldwide. These account for about 30% of the total congenital abnormalities. Neonates with CHD presents with low oxygen saturation which can be screened with the help of pulse oximetry. Pulse oximetry is an easy and non-invasive method for measuring arterial oxygen saturation in newborns with a high level of accuracy.
Objective: To asses the role of Pulse Oximetry as a Screening Tool for Detecting Congenital Heart Disease.
Materials and Methods: The present prospective observational study was conducted by the Department of Paediatrics (Post Natal Ward) at Government Multi-specialty Hospital, Sector-16 and Chandigarh from December 2015 to June 2016.
Results: Among the study out of 528 study subjects nearly 5 (0.9%) of them were found to be positive and 523(99.1%) of them were found to be negative. The mean value of spo2 in positive screened cases of the upper limb was noted to be 91.20 which ranged from 89-94. In the lower limb, the mean value was found to be 90.20, which ranged from 84-94. The mean value of hand-foot difference was 3.00. The mean SpO2 Saturation in the upper and lower Limb between screen positive and Screen Negative was found to be statistically Significant with P Value of less than <0.0001.
Conclusion: Early diagnosis of CHD is crucial to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality of CHD as the first manifestation of CHD may be associated with circulatory collapse or death. Pulse oximetry can detect mild hypoxemia which is characteristic of CHD. Therefore, pulse oximetry screening should be implemented in routine post natal examination of neonates.