First day of life pulse oximetry screening to detect congenital heart defects.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of first day of life pulse oximetry screening to detect congenital heart defects (CHDs).

Study Design: We performed a population-based prospective multicenter study of postductal (foot) arterial oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) in apparently healthy newborns after transfer from the delivery suite to the nursery. SpO(2) < 95% led to further diagnostic evaluations.

Audit of neonatal deaths of nonmalformed infants of 34 or more weeks' gestation: unavoidable catastrophic events or suboptimal care?

Background: The neonatal death rate (death < or = 28 days/1000 live births) has decreased and the level is now so low that it has been questioned whether further improvement is possible. The aim of this study was to categorize nonmalformed infants of 34 weeks' or more gestational age dying in the neonatal period to analyze if these deaths might have been prevented.

Material And Methods: We used the audit method to study neonatal deaths during 1986-98 in a county population of approximately 240 000 inhabitants.

[Enuresis nocturna--practical advice for examination and treatment].

Children suffering from nocturnal enuresis have better self-esteem when they stay dry. A medical examination is necessary in order to exclude specific causes. The choice of treatment should be based on: motivation and age of the child, nocturnal polyuria versus bladder capacity, possibilities to borrow an alarm device, and follow-up.

[Congenital luxation of the hip. A selective screening of newborn infants at a central hospital].

Background: Various studies during the 1980s indicated that ultrasound examination of the hips in newborns might be a good supplement to clinical examination in early diagnosis of congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH).

Material And Methods: From 1993, a selective screening group of newborn infants with a positive Ortolani's/Barlow's test and/or anamnestic risk factors for CDH received an ultrasound examination using a modified Graf's method. Indications, results, treatment and clinical course were recorded consecutively over three years.