Sensible addition to newborn tests

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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If your newborn baby could be easily and quickly screened for life-threatening congenital heart defects, at a cost of only a few dollars at most, would you be interested?

Of course. And that procedure, called pulse oximetry, is increasingly available and accepted by physicians.

However, it's not a routine part of newborn screenings in Iowa. It should be.

As Dr. Ben Reinking, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, explains in his adjacent guest column, “pulse ox” is a simple, non-invasive procedure. Sensors are attached to the baby's foot and a finger to measure the differences in oxygen flow. If differences are great, it's a potential sign of serious trouble - one of seven critical congenital heart defects can be detected - and follow-up procedures can be considered.

Among infants with birth defects, congenital heart problems are the No. 1 killer. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that critical-level defects - which carry the highest risk of mortality - represent about 25 percent of all types of congenital heart defects in newborns.

The UI has been running a pilot program and other hospitals have or are expected to add the pulse ox test to their screening regimen.

The Iowa Legislature has taken up the issue. Senate File 393, passed unanimously in late March, would require pulse ox as part of standard newborn screenings unless a parent objects. A House committee has recommended approval.

It looks like sensible legislation.

Detecting heart problems very early is good preventive medicine. And the inexpensive pulse ox test - some providers even provide it free of charge - can save thousands of dollars down the road by catching warning signs before a baby is discharged from the hospital and develops major health complications at home.

The American Heart Association points to research showing that wider use of pulse ox screening would help identify more than 90 percent of heart defects.

At least 10 states mandate this screening procedure. Iowa should be the next to do so

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