Live-saving CHD screening hasn't been universally embraced

09/23/2013 | ProPublica

The inexpensive pulse oximetry test can catch congenital heart defects before newborns leave the hospital, but more than a dozen states don't require it despite recommendations by public health officials and medical groups. An estimated 1 in 555 infants have a defect that typically needs to be surgically corrected in their first year, according to the CDC, but some physicians and hospitals are reluctant to adopt the test. "There's really no question, scientifically, this is a good idea," said Dr. Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatric cardiologist. "The issue is, how do we change culture?"

View Full Article in:


Published in Brief: