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Review
. 2020 Feb 23;8(1):43.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare8010043.

Heart Rate Assessment during Neonatal Resuscitation

Peter A Johnson  1   2 , Georg M Schmölzer  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Heart Rate Assessment during Neonatal Resuscitation

Peter A Johnson et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Approximately 10% of newborn infants require some form of respiratory support to successfully complete the fetal-to-neonatal transition. Heart rate (HR) determination is essential at birth to assess a newborn's wellbeing. Not only is it the most sensitive indicator to guide interventions during neonatal resuscitation, it is also valuable for assessing the infant's clinical status. As such, HR assessment is a key step at birth and throughout resuscitation, according to recommendations by the Neonatal Resuscitation Program algorithm. It is essential that HR is accurate, reliable, and fast to ensure interventions are delivered without delay and not prolonged. Ineffective HR assessment significantly increases the risk of hypoxic injury and infant mortality. The aims of this review are to summarize current practice, recommended techniques, novel technologies, and considerations for HR assessment during neonatal resuscitation at birth.

Keywords: heart rate; infants; neonatal resuscitation; newborn.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Current and novel technologies or techniques for heart rate assessment identified by Johnson et al. [15]. (A): An illustration of current recommendations, including electrocardiography, pulse oximetry, auscultation with a standard stethoscope, and palpation from brachial, femoral, and umbilical arteries, and novel technologies, including auscultation with a digital stethoscope, Doppler ultrasound, photoplethysmography, camera-based photoplethysmography for heart rate assessment. (B): An illustration of novel technologies including dry-electrode electrocardiography, and two sensor-based methods for heart rate assessment. Reproduced with permission from RETAIN Labs Medical Inc. (https://www.playretain.com).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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