Screening Of Newborns For Disorders With High Benefit-risk Ratios Should Be Mandatory

Title

Screening Of Newborns For Disorders With High Benefit-risk Ratios Should Be Mandatory

Creator

Kelly N; Makarem DC; Wasserstein MP

Identifier

DOI: 10.1177/1073110516654133

Publisher

Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics

Date

2016

Subject

Medical Examination; Health Risk Assessment; Parental Consent; Laws Regulations And Rules; Infants (newborn)

Description

Newborn screening has evolved to include an increasingly complex spectrum of diseases, raising concerns that screening should be optional and require parental consent. Early detection of disorders like PKU and MCAD is essential to prevent serious disability and death in affected children. These are examples of high benefit-risk ratio disorders because of the irrefutable health benefits of early detection, coupled with the low risks of treatment. The dire consequences of not diagnosing an infant with a treatable disorder because of parental refusal to screen are wholly unacceptable. Thus, we believe that newborn screening for disorders with high benefit-risk ratios should continue to be mandatory.

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Citation List Month

June 2016 List

Citation

Kelly N; Makarem DC; Wasserstein MP, “Screening Of Newborns For Disorders With High Benefit-risk Ratios Should Be Mandatory,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/10544.