Abstract
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is among the four most common causes of infant mortality in Latin America. Pulse oximetry screening (POS) is useful for early diagnosis and improved outcomes of critical CHD. Here, we describe POS implementation efforts in Latin American countries guided and/or coordinated by the Ibero American Society of Neonatology (SIBEN), as well as the unique challenges that are faced for universal implementation. SIBEN collaborates to improve the neonatal quality of care and outcomes. A few years ago, a Clinical Consensus on POS was finalized. Since then, we have participated in 12 Latin American countries to educate neonatal nurses and neonatologists on POS and to help with its implementation. The findings reveal that despite wide disparities in care that exist between and within countries, and the difficulties and challenges in implementing POS, significant progress has been made. We conclude that universal POS is not easy to implement in Latin America but, when executed, has not only been of significant value for babies with CHD, but also for many with other hypoxemic conditions. The successful and universal implementation of POS in the future is essential for reducing the mortality associated with CHD and other hypoxemic conditions and will ultimately lead to the survival of many more Latin American babies. POS saves newborns’ lives in Latin America.
Highlights
Latin America is a region of the Americas where languages derived from Latin and Romance languages are primarily spoken; it includes part of North America (Mexico), Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.Determining the true incidence or prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) for Latin America as a whole has been a true challenge
Our objective here is to describe early Pulse oximetry screening (POS) critical CHD (CCHD) screening implementation efforts in Latin American countries guided and/or coordinated by SIBEN, as well as the unique challenges and infrastructure in these countries for providing amplification of implementation, which we consider may be of great benefit to newborn infants, the international screening world, and various countries that are working to overcome implementation challenges
It is well-known that POS performed in healthy-appearing neonates, with monitors that can measure with a high specificity and sensitivity through low perfusion and motion, is very valuable for detecting early CCHD [21]
Summary
Latin America is a region of the Americas where languages derived from Latin and Romance languages are primarily spoken; it includes part of North America (Mexico), Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. In Guatemala, congenital heart disease was reported as the most common malformation present at birth, with an incidence close to 1% (8 to 11 of every 1000 newborns alive), causing 6% to 8% of infant deaths in children under one year [3]. Our objective here is to describe early POS CCHD screening implementation efforts in Latin American countries guided and/or coordinated by SIBEN, as well as the unique challenges and infrastructure in these countries for providing amplification of implementation, which we consider may be of great benefit to newborn infants, the international screening world, and various countries that are working to overcome implementation challenges. To provide information on the current situation of POS in Latin American countries, 19 neonatal health care professionals of 12 countries collaborated to provide information
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