PEDIATRICS Vol. 72 No. 1 July 1983, pp. 139-140
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More on Newborn Screening for Phenylketonuria: Recommendations of the Committee on Genetics

EDGAR J. SCHOEN MD1, GEORGE C. CUNNINGHAM MD2, and RICHARD KOCH MD3

1 Department of Pediatrics, Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, 280 W MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94611
2 Genetic Disease Branch, California Department of Health Services, Berkeley
3 Department of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Los Angeles

To the Editor.—

The recommendation of the Committee on Genetics1 that infants initially screened within 24 hours of birth should be rescreened for blood levels of phenylketonuria (PKU) because cases might be missed is based on questionable data. The recommendation, which is virtually mandatory in view of the malpractice situation, has resulted in significantly increased costs and is causing unnecessary inconvenience to parents and health care providers. Specifically, the Committee's recommendation would place the burden on the health care provider to track all infants screened within the first 24 hours (an increasing number of infants are discharged within that time) and to document that a second specimen has been collected.