Assessing the tongue colour of newly born infants may help to predict the need for supplemental oxygen in the delivery room

JA Dawson; A Ekström; C Frisk; M Thio; CC Roehr; COF Kamlin; SM Donath; PG Davis

Journal article

Assessing the tongue colour of newly born infants may help to predict the need for supplemental oxygen in the delivery room

JA Dawson, A Ekström, C Frisk, M Thio, CC Roehr, COF Kamlin, SM Donath, PG Davis

Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.1111/apa.12914

Abstract

©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. AIM: It takes several minutes for infants to become pink after birth. Preductal oxygen saturation (SpO2) measurements are used to guide the delivery of supplemental oxygen to newly born infants, but pulse oximetry is not available in many parts of the world. We explored whether the pinkness of an infant's tongue provided a useful indication that supplemental oxygen was required. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of infants delivered by Caesarean section. Simultaneous recording of SpO2 and visual assessment of whether the tongue was pink or not was made at 1-7 and 10 min after birth. RESULTS: The 38 mid..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Post Doctoral Fellowship

Awarded by NHMRC Program Grant

Funding Acknowledgements

JAD is a recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Post Doctoral Fellowship (APP1012686) and is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. COFK is a recipient of an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. PGD is a recipient of an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship. The study was supported in part by an NHMRC Program Grant No. 606789. CCR was supported by the European Respiratory Society through a 2011 Long Term Research Fellowship.