Newborn Screening History, Current Status, and Future Directions

Newborn screening programs aim to achieve presymptomatic diagnosis of treatable disorders, allowing for early initiation of medical care to prevent or reduce significant morbidity and mortality. Many of the conditions included in the newborn screening panels are inborn errors of metabolism; however, screening for endocrine, hematologic, immunologic, and cardiovascular diseases and hearing loss is also included in many panels. Newborn screening tests are not diagnostic, and therefore, diagnostic testing is needed to confirm or exclude the suspected diagnosis. Further advancement in technology is expected to allow continuous expansion of newborn screening.