# Pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease

Intervention · id `maternal:pulse-oximetry-cchd-screening` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public)

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Also called: CCHD screening; Newborn heart screen

Browse, life stage: Newborn  
Browse, care area: Newborn care  

## In plain language

A skin test that measures the level of oxygen in a newborn's blood and can tell whether the baby has a congenital heart defect. MedlinePlus lists it among the screening tests a newborn has before leaving the hospital.

## Technical summary

Source: the MedlinePlus Newborn Screening topic (NLM). A 2011 strategy paper on implementing this screening was published in Pediatrics, an AAP journal; AAP-published content is identity-only in this atlas, so the paper is a reference only and its content is not recorded. No accuracy figures are recorded. The link to congenital heart disease rests on one MedlinePlus sentence (see the claim on this page).

## Claims, with the population each applies to

## Context: Newborn babies in general (MedlinePlus and NICHD health information)

Recipient: Newborn; Population: Newborn babies. The sources set no limits of gestational age, birth weight or setting.; Care setting: Not stated in the source.; Geography: United States programmes are described by NICHD; MedlinePlus names no country.; Life stage: Newborn period; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable: general health information.

### MedlinePlus includes, among the screening tests a newborn has, a skin test of the blood's oxygen level, and says its result can show whether the baby has a congenital heart defect.

- Category: Description
- Evidence stage: Evidence stage not applicable
- Certainty: Certainty not assessed
- Applies to: Recipient: Newborn; Population: Newborn babies. The sources set no limits of gestational age, birth weight or setting.; Care setting: Not stated in the source.; Geography: United States programmes are described by NICHD; MedlinePlus names no country.; Life stage: Newborn period; Gestational age: Not reported; Postnatal age: Not reported; Follow-up: Not applicable: general health information.
- Limitations: Consumer health information, not a trial or an accuracy study: it gives no sensitivity, specificity or cut-off. The MedlinePlus text does not use the name pulse oximetry or the words critical congenital heart disease; the match to this record rests on the test it describes. The 2011 strategy paper on this screening is in Pediatrics, an AAP journal, so it is identity-only in this atlas and nothing from it is recorded.
- Last checked: 2026-10-14
- Sources:
  1. Supports: Newborn Screening (MedlinePlus health topic) (Webpage, edition Health topic page as fetched on 2026-10-14 (mh-medlineplus-newbornscreening.html). Only the summary text is used.) <https://medlineplus.gov/newbornscreening.html>
     Locator: Summary, list item 3. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:24:17Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: a0a9fa87987acdee782d566b48840d1a68724f592ce27654b780ea5065a6e3bc.
     How it applies: MedlinePlus lists the skin test among newborn screening tests.
  2. Supports: Newborn Screening (MedlinePlus health topic) (Webpage, edition Health topic page as fetched on 2026-10-14 (mh-medlineplus-newbornscreening.html). Only the summary text is used.) <https://medlineplus.gov/newbornscreening.html>
     Locator: Summary, list item 3, sentence 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:24:17Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: a0a9fa87987acdee782d566b48840d1a68724f592ce27654b780ea5065a6e3bc.
     How it applies: MedlinePlus says the test can tell if the baby has a congenital heart defect.

## Connected pages

- Part of the newborn screening set: Newborn screening (`maternal:newborn-screening`)
- MedlinePlus: the skin oxygen test can show whether a baby has a congenital heart defect: Congenital heart disease (`core:congenital-heart-disease`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `maternal:claim-pulse-oximetry-medlineplus` and its context]
- Filed under this front: Screening and tests (`maternal:front-screening-and-tests`)

## Provenance

Content hash: afd03496074adf8c8a311940694db1ee0b1440f613878e088619dc988d0102de
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: Not recorded