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Every baby deserves a healthy life

Newborn Screening - A public health revolution akin to the preventive program of immunizationNewborn Screening is a preventive health measure to detect disorders not clinically visible at birth but can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The process is simple and involves a few drops of blood collected by a small lancet on a piece of filter paper. Up to 40 disorders can be tested on this sample. The test has to be performed anytime after 24 hours of birth and ideally less than 7 days after birth. A template disorder, which is the most important preventable cause of mental retardation, is Congenital Hypothyroidism.

Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH)Congenital hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland fails to develop or function. The common causes are agenesis of the thyroid gland, ectopic location of the gland and dyshormonogenesis (failure of any of the hormones to be synthesized). Mothers with hypothyroidism, when euthyroid do not cause any of the above mentioned conditions. Left undetected, it leads to intellectual disability and abnormal growth. Treatment must be started within the first 2 weeks of life of infants to prevent development of mental retardation, learning disabilities, and/or growth delays.

CH India PerspectiveGlobally, the incidence of CH is about 1:3000 or 1:4000. In India, preliminary research indicates that it is much higher at 1:1130.1

References:1. ICMR Multicentric Study (2007-2012)

An educational initiative by PerkinElmer

Why it is important – A Case StudyA simple blood test would have changed his life - encourage newborn screening. There is nothing more encouraging for an obstetrician to see a healthy fetus grow into an active productive child what can be better than a preventive measure right when the newborn is still under your care.

This baby Laxman now nine months old does not even hold neck and has global developmental delay. The mother is tired of his constipation. She reports that he was born healthy with good APGAR scores. The obstetrician had congratulated her on the birth of a healthy child. Somewhere something went wrong.

Her neighbour who has just been blessed with a baby daughter has undergone a heel prick test.

CH prevention with Newborn ScreeningThis baby has congenital hypothyroidism. Imagine that a very low cost intervention in the form of supplementation of L Thyroxine could have ensured normal growth and development of this child.Let us all give our promise to encourage newborn screening.

Baby Laxman was not screened after birth and later it was found that he is suffering from Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH). If Newborn Screening was done in time, the situation would have been in favor of this little child.

Rinki was blessed with a baby girl at the same time when Laxman was born, but she knew about Newborn Screening. After getting her baby screening, it was found that her baby is also suffering from CH. Today after 9 months, her little angel is healthy and leading a normal life.

Disorder Screened

Prevalence Effect if not screened

Effect if Screened & Managed

Management

Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH)

1:1130 Severe mental retardation, intellectual disability and abnormal growth.

Normal, if treatment begins in the first month after birth.

Daily oral dose of thyroid hormone (thyroxine)