Clinical Screening and Diagnosis for Critical Congenital Heart Defects

Summary

CDC clinical information page on pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart defects in healthy-appearing newborns in nurseries and in NICU settings after weaning from supplemental oxygen. It outlines screening timing, the updated recommended screening algorithm (Oster et al., 2025), criteria for passed and failed screens, and follow-up evaluation of failed screens, including echocardiography. It lists target heart defects and non-cardiac causes of hypoxaemia that may be detected, and gives tips to reduce false positives. It stresses that screening complements, rather than replaces, history taking and physical examination.

Summary written for NICUlearn. Always read the original.