Hyderabad: Of 7,000 newborn children screened in the last three years at a private hospital in the city, 1.4 per cent were found to suffer from metabolic disorders, city pediatricians, seeking immediate screening of newborns, said.
Every year about 1,000 children from both the states, within a year of birth, exhibit symptoms of severe metabolic disorders and often it is too late to save them. Of those that survive, many lead a disabled life or struggle to survive even a year.
The practice of screening newborn children does not exist in the present hospital setup in India and it is only when a hospital counsels the family is when the latter agree to a diagnostic test.
For checking on abnormalities, a drop of blood from the child is taken to check for any genetic disorders.
Most common metabolic disorders show no symptoms at the time of birth. Congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, glucose deficiency and lack of amino acids are some of the common metabolic disorders which can be picked up in newborn screening.
Dr Radha Rama Devi, senior pediatrician (Genetics), explained, “The reason we are insisting on screening is because these children show signs of severe disorders within a few months. The symptoms of hypothyroidism are seen after the first three weeks of birth but by the time the parents identify it, it is too late. This condition leads to mental retardation in the child.”
Indian Council of Medical Research had screened 1,00,000 children from 2008 to 2013 at five regional centers in the country. The study showed the prevalence of metabolic disorders in 1 of every 1,100 children screened.
