Screening Newborns for Cardiac Birth Defects

Cohen Children's Medical Center chief of neonatology Dr. Dennis Davidson discusses the use of pulse oximetry to screen newborns for cardiac birth defects -- a test that North Shore-LIJ has been performing on the more than 24,000 babies born every year at our hospitals since 2004, but is not a routine test at many US hospitals. A federal advisory panel is now calling for broader use of the test for congenital heart defects, which affect 40,000 babies a year, and caused nearly 28,000 deaths between 1999 and 2006.

CBS Early Show
Feds urge wider use of heart test on newborns
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CBS Evening News
Heart problems to be screened in all newborns

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