Oxygen saturation, heart and respiratory frequency of term newborns in high-altitude populations

Introduction: Newborns adaptation to extrauterine life is important, especially in high altitude populations where the characteristics are different from sea level populations. Objectives: To estimate the correlation between oxygen saturation, heart and respiratory frequency during the first 720 minutes of life in term newborns at 3 400 meters above sea level. Methods: An observational, prospective study was performed. Newborns from eutocic delivery at term that were born during October and December 2016 in the neonatology service at Cusco-Peru Hospital were included in the study. Oxygen saturation, heart frequency and respiratory frequency were assessed at 5, 30, 120, 360, 480 and 720 minutes after birth. A descriptive analysis was performed and the correlations among the variables were calculated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. Values p < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Mean oxygen saturation, heart rate and respiratory rate were stable at two hours. A significant correlation was obtained between heart rate and oxygen saturation at 5, 30, 120, 360 and 720 minutes. Respiratory frequency and oxygen saturation correlated significantly at 5, 30, 480 and 720 minutes. Conclusions: Correlation between oxygen saturation, heart rate and respiratory rate are adequate in different periods. This study contributes to better understand the adaptation of newborns in these high altitude populations.