title: Establishment of the first newborn screening program in the People's Democratic Republic of Laos.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The People's Democratic Republic of Laos belongs to the minority of countries worldwide without an established newborn bloodspot screening (NBS) system.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2008, we initiated a pilot project of a neonatal screening system in the delivery suites of the Laotian capital, Vientiane. Samples were analysed for thyrotropin-stimulating hormone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Altogether 11 362 samples were taken; an initially high recall rate dropped eventually to just above 4%. Two cases of hypothyroidism and one case of congenital adrenal hyperplasia were identified and received timely treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, we have demonstrated the feasibility of establishing an NBS system in a low-resource setting as prevalent in Laos. Obstacles for the establishment of a general NBS covering the whole country include the question of financial cover, treatment costs, and adequate teaching and supervision of technicians and doctors.
authors.affiliation: Neonatology and Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Department of General Paediatrics, Düsseldorf, Germany. thomas.hoehn@uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoehn
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lukacs
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stehn
authors.forename: Ertan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mayatepek
authors.forename: Kedsatha
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Philavanh
authors.forename: Saysanasongkham
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bounnack
mesh_terms: D019326:17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone / Q000097:blood*; D000312:Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007812:Laos; D008297:Male; D008661:Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D019326:17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone; D013972:Thyrotropin