Comparative study of pulse oximetry, physical examination and echocardiography results in the diagnosis of congenital heart defects in neonates in the first 24 hours of life

Congenital heart disease is the most common congenital anomaly. About 50% of Neonates with congenital heart disease are asymptomatic in the first few days of life and are not diagnosed on initial examination. Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method that can show the percentage of oxygen saturation in the blood and congenital heart disease. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study and the sampling method was census. Echocardiography was performed for all neonates with spo2 less than 95% and also neonates who were diagnosed with a problem by a cardiologist. After collecting the samples, the results obtained from pulse oximetry, physical examination and echocardiography were analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and statistical tests of Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality and Spearman correlation. Was investigated. Results: In pulse oximetry evaluation, 1.9% of neonates had spo2 (arterial oxygen saturation) less than 95%. 1.7% of neonates had heart problems in physical examination and 2.12% of neonates had heart problems in echocardiography. The highest correlation between pulse oximetry and echocardiography was 0.917. Conclusion: Considering the diagnostic importance of congenital heart diseases and their impact on a person's life, it is recommended that pulse oximetry be added to physical examinations at birth as a screening method for heart disease.