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Research Article: Significance of Neonatal Heart Rate in the Delivery Room—A Review

Date Published: 2023-09-14

Abstract:
Background: Heart rate (HR) is considered the main vital sign in newborns during perinatal transition, with a threshold of 100 beats per minute (bpm), below which, intervention is recommended. However, recent changes in delivery room management, including delayed cord clamping, are likely to have influenced normal HR transition. Objective: To summarize the updated knowledge about the factors, including measurement methods, that influence HR in newborn infants immediately after birth. Additionally, this paper provides an overview of delivery room HR as a prognostic indicator in different subgroups of newborns. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar with the terms infant, heart rate, delivery room, resuscitation, pulse oximetry, and electrocardiogram. Results: Seven studies that described HR values in newborn infants immediately after birth were included. Pulse oximetry-derived HR percentiles after immediate cord clamping may not be applicable to the current practice of delayed cord clamping and the increasing use of delivery room electrocardiograms. Mask ventilation may adversely affect HR, particularly in premature and non-asphyxiated infants. Prolonged bradycardia is a negative prognostic factor, especially if combined with hypoxemia in infants <32 weeks of gestation. Conclusions: HR assessment in the delivery room remains important. However, the cardiopulmonary transition is affected by delayed cord clamping, gestational age, and underlying conditions.

Introduction:
Heart rate (HR) is considered the gold standard clinical indicator of successful transition from intra- to extrauterine life and is used to guide delivery room resuscitation and stabilization [1]. International guidelines recommend an HR threshold of 100 beats per minute (bpm), below which, intervention should be considered. Current guidelines recommend neonatal HR assessment by cardiac auscultation, pulse oximetry, and/or electrocardiogram (ECG) [1]. However, studies indicate that some methods, including…

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