The DC Newborn Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Program goals are to ensure all newborns born in the District are screened at birth for critical congenital heart disease and to ensure any infant with abnormal results receive timely, appropriate follow-up and services.
Structure of Program:
- Screening takes between 24 and 48 hours of life using a device called a pulse oximeter to measure oxygen in the baby’s blood.
- Each birthing hospital is required to submit all Newborn CCHD reports to the DC Newborn CCHD Screening Program on a quarterly basis.
- DC CCHD Program works with birthing hospitals and pediatric facilities to assure diagnostic, and when necessary, treatment services are provided to those babies with a failed CCHD screen prior to discharge home, as well as follow-up screenings take place for babies that need repeat screening or were transferred to other facilities pre-screening.
Updates:
-As of December 2024, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated the guidelines and algorithm for Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) newborn screening via pulse oximetry. These protocol updates aim to reduce the time from screening to intervention and refine the already successful protocol to ensure that screening is applied consistently, accurately and efficiently. For more information, see AAP Recommendations on Use of Pulse
⎼ Please see some additional resources below on CCHD Screening, co-produced by Children's National Hospital and AAP, along with Baby's First Test as a valued contributor:
- Video for Providers: Newborn Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Defect
- Video for Families: Newborn Pulse Oximetry Screening to Detect Critical Congenital Heart Disease
- Provider and Parent Education Flyers