Benefits of pulse oximetry in neonatal screening to detect congenital heart diseases

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of pulse oximetry in neonatal screening in order to facilitate the diagnosis of congenital heart diseases as well as to observe the most sensitive to the test. METHODS: This is a systematic literature review that included articles published between 2014 and 2018. The chosen keywords were entered into PubMed and MedLine databases. RESULTS: The search resulted in 34 articles, from which 5 articles that met the established exclusion and inclusion criteria were evaluated. Based on the results of these studies, the accuracy of oximetry was evaluated according to sensitivity, which ranged from 60 to 100%, and specificity, which ranged from 94 to 99.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Oximetry has shown an important role in the process preceding the diagnosis of congenital heart defects by allowing early assistance and surgical intervention in cases that require urgent correction of the heart defect.