A number of babies are born globally every year with what doctors call critical congenital heart defects - physical abnormalities so severe that they will probably die very early in life unless they receive surgery.
However, usually there are no outward signs that anything is wrong, and the first a parent knows about it is when their baby suddenly becomes extremely ill. Current screening methods which rely on pre-natal ultrasound and clinical assessment are thought to pick up about half of cases.
Now, a team at Queen Mary, University of London, says in 'The Lancet' journal, that the two-minute pulse oximetry test could raise that to nearly three-quarters.
The test involves a simple clip being placed on a toe, which measures the amount of oxygen in the blood. Babies with low blood oxygen are sent for further tests, according to the scientists.
Dr Shakila Thangaratinam, who led the team, said: "Heart defects in newborn babies are thankfully rare but their potential impact is devastating. This study is really important because by including such large numbers of babies, we can show that pulse oximetry is effective at picking up defects, without misdiagnosing healthy babies." (MORE) PTI MOT MOT
