Key result
Staged single-extremity pulse oximetry eliminates >75,000 unnecessary tests annually without missing CCHD diagnoses.
Why the study?
A screening algorithm that reduces unnecessary pulse oximetry measurements without compromising detection of critical congenital heart disease was needed.
Does a single-extremity staged screening approach by pulse oximetry reduce unnecessary determinations without affecting the ability to detect CCHD?
Observational
Does a single-extremity staged screening approach by pulse oximetry reduce unnecessary determinations without affecting the ability to detect CCHD?
A single-extremity staged pulse oximetry screening algorithm for CCHD safely reduces unnecessary testing by allowing an automatic pass for foot saturations of 97% or greater.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Supports streamlined single-extremity CCHD screening to reduce unnecessary tests; leaves open generalizability beyond this statewide experience.
Tennessee initiated single-extremity staged screening by pulse oximetry for undetected CCHD in 2012. The algorithm begins with a saturation reading in the foot and allows an automatic pass if the foot pulse oximetry is 97% or greater. This was based on the principle that it is not possible to have a greater than 4% difference in the pulse oximetry between upper and lower extremities if the lower extremity is equal to or greater than 97%. This approach eliminates over 75,000 “unnecessary” pulse oximetry determinations in Tennessee each year without affecting the ability to detect CCHD before hospital discharge.
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Walsh et al. (2017) conducted an observational in Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD). Single-extremity staged screening by pulse oximetry was evaluated on Unnecessary pulse oximetry determinations and CCHD detection. Single-extremity staged screening by pulse oximetry eliminated over 75,000 unnecessary determinations annually in Tennessee without affecting CCHD detection before hospital discharge.
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