The set of laboratory tests routinely ordered for newborns helps prevent mental retardation, seizures, severe illness, stunted growth, lifelong disabilities, and even premature death. Done within a few days of birth, these screening tests help ensure that certain serious metabolic and infectious diseases are identified and treated as quickly as possible. Most are done on a spot of blood obtained from a prick of the heel.
The number of tests available to assess and protect newborn health continues to grow. Newborns can now easily be screened for more than 30 conditions and diseases and, with the latest technology, as many as 20 of these problems can be detected in a single test. Although most of the conditions are rare, identifying them early allows treatment to begin before the child¿s life and health are threatened.
The decision on which tests and vaccines a newborn automatically receives is left up to the state in which the child is born. State requirements vary widely as there are currently no national guidelines, although this may soon change (see Push for Consistent Newborn Screening Underway).
Even if national guidelines are developed, state test lists may continue to vary. Parents and health care providers can more closely guard a newborn's health by considering which tests their state requires and which additional tests may be appropriate, as the following articles explain (see side menu).
You can also find out more about preventive medicine and the steps you can take to keep you and your family healthy by reading the companion article Staying Healthy in an Era of Patient Responsibility.
Sources
Newborn Screening Task Force, convened by the American Academy of Pediatrics (with funding from the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau). Newborn screening: a blueprint for the future: a call for a national agenda on state newborn screening programs. Pediatrics. 2000 Aug;106(2):389-422. Available on the Internet at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org. Accessed August 27, 2004.
Oliver L, for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Newborn genetic screening. Genetics Brief. 2002 Jun;10. Available on the Internet (as PDF file) at www.ncsl.org/programs/health/genetics/Newbornscreening.pdf. Accessed August 27, 2004.
Overview
Common Tests for Metabolic Disorders and Infectious Diseases
Genetic Tests for Newborns with Increased Risk
