Table 2 Sensitivity of pulse oximetry and routine follow‐up with clinical examination to detect serious congenital heart defects.
| Defect | Pulse oximetry, screened newborns* | Pulse oximetry, all data available | Routine follow‐up and clinical examination1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive/all (%) | Positive/all (%) | Positive/all (%) | |
| Hypoplastic left heart | 3/3 (100) | 15/15 (100) | 23/35‡ (66‡) |
| Pulmonary atresia | 5/5 (100) | 14/14 (100) | 47/64‡ (73‡) |
| Ebstein's anomaly | 0 | 1/1 (100) | NA |
| Transposition of great arteries | 9/10 (90) | 35/36 (97) | 65/76‡ (86‡) |
| Common arterial trunk | 5/6 (83) | 8/9 (89) | 11/18 (61) |
| Total anomalous pulmonary venous return | 4/5 (80) | 7/8 (88) | 2/22 (9) |
| Tricuspid atresia | 1/1 (100) | 6/7 (86) | NA |
| Double outlet right ventricle | 4/5 (80) | 6/7 (86) | NA |
| Double inlet left ventricle | 0 | 4/5 (80) | NA |
| Interrupted aortic arch | 0 | 8/10 (80) | 10/19‡ (53‡) |
| Aortic atresia or stenosis | 2/2 (100) | 8/10 (80) | 32/58‡ (55‡) |
| Atrioventricular septal defect | 3/4 (75) | 6/8 (75) | 3/19 (16) |
| Tetralogy of Fallot | 6/11 (55) | 15/21 (71) | 54/72‡ (75‡) |
| Coarctation of aorta | 5/10 (50) | 13/26† (50 (62)†) | 30/95‡ (32‡) |
| Pulmonary stenosis Left‐to‐right shunts, see text | 4/9 (44) | 6/13 (46) | 65/112‡ (58‡) |
| Total | 51/71 (72) | 152/190 (80) | 342/590 (58) |
NA, not available.
*References as in table 1; †References as in table 1 and references 9, 21.
†13/21 or 62% by exclusively postductal Spo2.
‡Includes deaths due to missed diagnosis.