Congenital heart disease: issues with screening at the newborn physical examination.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Seignior, Helen
- Source
- British Journal of Midwifery. Nov2019, Vol. 27 Issue 11, p682-687. 6p.
- Subject
- *CONGENITAL heart disease diagnosis
*HEART sounds
*AUSCULTATION
*BLOOD pressure
*CARDIOPULMONARY system physiology
*HEART murmurs
*NEWBORN screening
*INFANT physiology
*OXIMETRY
*PALPATION
*PHYSICAL diagnosis
*PULSE oximeters
- Language
- ISSN
- 0969-4900
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a significant cause of infant death in the developed world. For this reason, screening for CHD forms part of the newborn physical examination (NPE) that occurs within 72 hours of birth. This article reviews the challenges faced by the examiner in the detection of CHD in the newborn. This includes relevant anatomy and physiology of the newborn circulation and the presentation of heart murmurs. The usefulness of additional screening tools is also discussed. Four-limb blood pressure (BP) is found to be unhelpful as a screening tool, whereas the use of pulse oximetry is supported by research evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]