The five dimensions of quality are Accessibility, Acceptability, Effectiveness, Efficiency and Safety. A newborn screening program consists of a number of interlinked parts, not usually managed by the same individual, and the quality of the program is dependent on the quality of program planning, specimen collection, laboratory testing and follow up, diagnosis and treatment. Outcome assessment ...

The storage and use of residual newborn screening dried blood specimens has generated significant controversy in the past 5 years, primarily because of public concerns over the lack of parental knowledge and consent for these activities. State policies addressing the management of these specimens vary widely, and there is currently little guidance to aid new state policy development to address ...

These guidelines provide scientific information for policy development by state health departments considering appropriate use of newborn screening specimens after screening tests are finished. Information was collected, debated, and formulated into a policy statement by the Newborn Screening Committee of the Council of Regional Networks for Genetic Services (CORN), a federally funded national ...

12 month period between 1st October 2006 and 30th September 2007. 2872 of these were inborn and were considered for calculating the hospital based incidence of CH. TSH values were ≥10 mU/L in 106 infants. Serum T4 and TSH assay confirmed neonatal hypothyroidism in 6 of them. All of them were inborn infants. The study revealed congenital hypothyroidism incidence of 2.1 per 1000 (6/2872) amongst ...

Newborn screening is a mandatory state-based public health program that provides all newborns in the United States with presymptomatic testing and necessary follow-up health care for a variety of medical conditions. The goal of this essential public health program is to decrease morbidity and mortality by screening for disorders in which early intervention will improve neonatal and long-term he...

Infection with Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is considered an important public health problem. It is associated with: Neonatal sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, neonatal death, septic abortion, chorioamnionitis, endometritis and other perinatal infections. The aim of this study was to determine the best screening strategy for GBS in pregnant women. For this a systematic review and meta-analysis were...

Newborn screening has existed for approximately four decades. During that period of time, newborn screening has evolved conceptually from a laboratory test for a single disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU), to a multi-part public health system involving education, screening, diagnostic follow-up, treatment/management, and system evaluation. At a time when newborn screening is recognized as a model f...

OBJECTIVE Expanded newborn screening (NBS) identifies some disorders for which clinical benefit is uncertain, as well as "incidental" findings (eg, carrier status), thus enhancing the need to inform parents about NBS before sample collection. METHODS A self-complete survey was sent to a cross-sectional, stratified, random sample of 5 provider groups in Ontario (obstetricians, midwives, family...

Objective. Sweat collected for testing should have quantity not sufficient (QNS) rate of ≤10% in babies ≤3 months of age. Michigan (MI) cystic fibrosis (CF) centers' QNS rates were 12% to 25% in 2009. This project was initiated to reduce sweat QNS rates in MI. Methods/Steps. (a) Each center's sweat testing procedures were reviewed by a consultant. (b) Each center received a report with recommen...

Screening newborns for cystic fibrosis (CF) is considered to be an ethical undertaking in regions with a significant incidence of the condition. Current screening protocols result in recognition of infants with an equivocal diagnosis. A survey of European practice suggested inconsistencies in the evaluation and management of these infants. We have undertaken a consensus process using a modified...