PEDIATRICS Vol. 63 No. 2 February 1979, pp. 340-342
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Levy, H. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mitchell, M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Levy, H. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mitchell, M. L.

Regional Newborn Screening for Hypothyroidism

Harvey L. Levy M.D.1 and Marvin L. Mitchell M.D.2

1 Massachusetts Metabolic Disorders Program, State Laboratory Institute 305 South Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
2 New England Hypothyroidism Screening Program, State Laboratory Institute 305 South Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Newborn screening for phenylketonuria (PKU) is now so firmly established in North America and in many other areas of the world that it is a bit difficult for most pediatricians to recall when PKU was diagnosed on the basis of mental retardation. The key to PKU screening has been the Guthrie test, the genius of which is not the bacterial assay that is employed (though this assay was certainly a momentous development) but the simple filter paper blood specimen. This specimen, easily obtained by blotting a few drops of blood from the heel of a neonate, is even more easily mailed to a central laboratory for testing.