title: Routine hepatitis screening in adolescent pregnancies: is it cost effective?
abstract: In most obstetric centers routine serum screening for hepatitis B is not part of standard prenatal care. This study was designed to determine whether hepatitis B screening is cost effective for routine prenatal testing. In a prenatal population of 585 adolescents the cost-benefit ratio of hepatitis B screening was compared with that of routine syphilis screening. Eight positive results were detected, with a cost of $1755 per positive case. This compared favorably with the frequency and cost of detection of syphilis in the same population. Routine hepatitis B screening is recommended for consideration in similar prenatal populations.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002641:Chicago; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000191:economics*; D012306:Risk; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis / Q000191:economics