Diagnostic value of pulse oximetry combined with cardiac auscultation in screening congenital heart disease in neonates

Objective This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and reliability of pulse oximetry combined with cardiac auscultation in screening neonatal congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods This was a retrospective, observational, screening study. All newborns included in the study were at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from July 2019 to January 2020. Primary screening of CHD was conducted by pulse oximetry combined with cardiac auscultation assays. Indices, including sensitivity, specificity, the positive/negative predictive value, the positive/negative likelihood ratio, and the diagnostic odds ratio, were calculated. The area under the relative operating characteristic curve of the subjects was measured. Results A total of 3327 neonates were enrolled, among whom 139 were diagnosed with CHD and the incidence of CHD was 4.2%. The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, and area under the relative operating characteristic curve of pulse oximetry combined with cardiac auscultation were 89.9%, 94.7%, 169.0, and 0.923, respectively. Conclusions Pulse oximetry combined with cardiac auscultation is a novel screening method with acceptable accuracy and feasibility for neonatal CHD. This combination method is worth promoting widely.