Measurement of neonatal heart rate using handheld Doppler ultrasound. Issue 2 (10th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dyson, Amanda; Jeffrey, Michele; Kluckow, Martin
• Is Part Of: Archives of disease in childhood. Volume 102:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: F116
• Page End: F119
• Publication Date: 2016-06-10
• Subjects: heart rate -- neonate -- Doppler -- neonatal resuscitation; Infants -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Newborn infants -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Fetus -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 618.920105
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2016-310669
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-2998

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: This pilot study aimed to determine whether handheld Doppler ultrasound is feasible and reliable for measuring neonatal heart rate (HR) when compared with ECG. Setting: Stable newborns were recruited from the neonatal intensive care unit and postnatal ward between July 2014 and January 2015 at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Interventions: Each newborn had their HR recorded every 15 s over 145 s using four different modalities: ECG, counted audible Doppler (AD) over 10 s, pulse oximetry (PO) and the Doppler display (DD). Outcome measures: The correlation and variation between each modality and ECG. Results: 51 newborns with a median gestational age of 38 weeks (27–41) and a mean weight of 2.78 kg (0.82 to 4.76) with a median postnatal age of 3 days (0–87) were studied. There was a mean difference of 0.69 bpm (95% CI −2.9 to +1.5) between AD-HR and ECG-HR with good correlation between modalities (r=0.94, p<0.01). The median time to achieve AD-HR was 3 s (1–45). The mean difference between DD-HR and ECG-HR was 5.37 bpm (95% CI −12.8 to +2.1) with moderate correlation (r=0.37, p=0.04). The mean difference between PO-HR and ECG-HR was 0.49 bpm (95% CI −1.5 to +0.51) with good correlation (r=0.99, p<0.01). The variability between AD-HR and ECG-HR decreased with decreasing weight. Conclusions: AD-HR correlates well with ECG-HR. Further research in the delivery room is recommended before using AD-HR in this area.