[Neonatal screening program at the university hospital of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, São Paulo University, Brazil].
The Neonatal Screening Program at the University Hospital of the Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, São Paulo University, Brazil, was introduced in 1994. As of December 2005, congenital hypothyroidism had been diagnosed in 76 infants, phenylketonuria in 10, and hemoglobinopathies in 25, representing incidence rates of 1:2,595, 1:19,409, and 1:4,120, respectively. A total of 2,747 newborns had the sickle cell trait, i.e., were heterozygous for the sickle mutation (1:37.5 live births). The program's mean coverage during this period was 94.5%. There was major improvement in the parameters for evaluating the program's quality, although they were still far from ideal. Public-awareness campaigns on the importance of neonatal screening are needed to increase the program's coverage. Setting postnatal day 3 as the standard Day for the Heel Stick Test would help ensure treatment at earlier ages, thus improving prognosis for affected infants.
Magalhães
Patrícia Künzle Ribeiro
PK
Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
Turcato
Marlene de Fátima
Mde F
Angulo
Ivan de Lucena
Ide L
Maciel
Léa Maria Zanini
LM
D001938:Brazil; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006453:Hemoglobinopathies / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010661:Phenylketonurias / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies