NEW BOR N S C R E E N I N G

NEWBORN SCREENING

• NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) IS A SIMPLE PROCEDURE TO

FIND OUT IF YOUR NEWBORN HAS A CONGENITAL
METABOLIC DISORDER THAT MAY LEAD TO MENTAL
RETARDATION OR EVEN DEATH IF LEFT UNTREATED
NEWBORN SCREENING

• MOST BABIES WITH METABOLIC DISORDERS LOOK

"NORMAL" AT BIRTH. BY DOING NBS, METABOLIC
DISORDERS MAY BE DETECTED EVEN BEFORE CLINICAL
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS ARE PRESENT. AND AS A RESULT
OF THIS, TREATMENT CAN BE GIVEN EARLY TO PREVENT
CONSEQUENCES OF UNTREATED CONDITIONS
WHEN IS NEWBORN SCREENING DONE? 

•NEWBORN SCREENING IS IDEALLY DONE

IMMEDIATELY AFTER 24 HOURS FROM
BIRTH. 
HOW IS NEWBORN SCREENING DONE?

•A FEW DROPS OF BLOOD ARE

TAKEN FROM THE BABY'S
HEEL, BLOTTED ON A SPECIAL
ABSORBENT FILTER CARD AND
THEN SENT TO NEWBORN
SCREENING CENTER (NSC).
WHO WILL COLLECT THE SAMPLE FOR
NEWBORN SCREENING 
THE BLOOD SAMPLE FOR NBS MAY BE COLLECTED BY ANY OF THE
FOLLOWING:
• PHYSICIAN
• NURSE
• MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST
• TRAINED MIDWIFE
SIX CONDITIONS IN THE PRESENT PANEL
1. CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM
2. CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPERPLASIA
3. GALACTOSEMIA
4. PHENYLKETONURIA
5. MAPLE SYRUP URINE DISEASE
6. GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENCY
 ADDITIONAL DISORDERS TESTED BY EXPANDED NEWBORN SCREENING

1.HEMOGLOBINOPATHIES
2.DISORDERS OF AMINO ACID AND ORGANIC ACID METABOLISM
3.DISORDERS OF FATTY ACID OXIDATION
4.DISORDERS OF CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM
5.DISORDERS OF BIOTIN METABOLISM
6.CYSTIC FIBROSIS.
FEE FOR NEWBORN SCREENING
• THE FIRST OPTION IS SCREENING FOR THE SIX DISORDERS AT ₱550, WHICH IS
INCLUDED IN THE NEWBORN CARE PACKAGE FOR PHILHEALTH MEMBERS AND THE
SECOND OPTION IS SCREENING FOR THE FULL COMPLEMENT OF 28 DISORDERS AT
₱1500.

• ONLY P550 IS COVERED BY PHILHEALTH. IF YOU ARE A PHILHEALTH

MEMBER, AND OPT TO HAVE YOUR BABY UNDERGO EXPANDED NEWBORN
SCREENING, YOU WILL PAY THE REMAINING COST WHICH IS P950
NEWBORN SCREENING RESULTS
• RESULTS CAN BE CLAIMED FROM THE HEALTH FACILITY WHERE NBS WAS AVAILED. NORMAL NBS RESULTS
ARE AVAILABLE BY 7 - 14 WORKING DAYS FROM THE TIME  SAMPLES ARE RECEIVED AT THE NSC. 

POSITIVE NBS RESULTS ARE RELAYED TO THE PARENTS IMMEDIATELY BY THE HEALTH FACILITY. PLEASE
ENSURE THAT THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER YOU WILL PROVIDE TO THE HEALTH FACILITY ARE
CORRECT.

A NEGATIVE SCREEN MEANS THAT THE NBS RESULT IS NORMAL.

A POSITIVE SCREEN MEANS THAT THE NEWBORN MUST BE BROUGHT BACK TO HIS/HER HEALTH
PRACTITIONER FOR FURTHER TESTING. 
DONE WHEN A BABY IS TESTED A
POSITIVE NBS RESULT
• BABIES WITH POSITIVE RESULTS MUST BE REFERRED AT
ONCE TO A SPECIALIST FOR CONFIRMATORY TESTING AND
FURTHER MANAGEMENT. SHOULD THERE BE NO SPECIALIST
IN THE AREA, THE NBS SECRETARIAT OFFICE WILL ASSIST
ITS ATTENDING PHYSICIAN.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9288    
“AN ACT PROMULGATING A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AND A
NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR ENSURING NEWBORN SCREENING”
APRIL 07, 2004
• AS OF DECEMBER 2009, A TOTAL OF 1,8245,540 BABIES
WERE SCREENED ON FOUR OF THE FIVE DISEASES ON
THE NEWBORN SCREENING (NBS) PANEL OF
DISORDERS. THE INCIDENCE RATE (FIGURE 1) SHOWS
THE FREQUENCY A SPECIFIC CONFIRMED GENETIC
DISEASE FROM THE NBS PANEL WAS OBSERVED
THROUGHOUT THE POPULATION SCREENED. THE
LOWEST INCIDENCE WAS RECORDED IN PKU WHILE
THE HIGHEST WAS IN G6PD IN WHICH A TOTAL OF
34,373 CASES WERE CONFIRMED. G6PD WAS ALSO
NOTED TO HAVE THE HIGHEST PREVALENCE WITH A
POSITIVE PATIENT IN EVERY FIFTY-ONE NEWBORNS.
THIS VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IF ALL OF
THE NEWBORNS WILL BE SCREENED.
NBS NATIONAL COVERAGE AND PREVALENCE OF NBS METABOLIC DISORDERS (2010)
THA NK Y OU !