Testing the common condition, threatening the brain in newborns "inaccurate" but justified by the cost
Health
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HANNAH MARTIN
Last update 05:00, 14 July 2018
LUMA PIMANTEL / UNPLASH [19659005] Researchers at the Liggins Institute call hospitals to adopt an enzyme test to examine newborns' blood sugar levels rather than the traditional heel test.
Researchers are asking hospitals to change the way they test threatening conditions in newborns.
Neonatal hypoglycemia, or hypoglycemia, affects one in six babies. Left untreated, it can cause developmental delay, brain damage, and decreased academic performance later in life.
About one in three newborns is at risk of neonatal hypoglycemia: those born before term, are smaller or taller than usual or have mothers with diabetes.
Currently, many hospitals use heel test strips to detect the presence of sugars in the blood.
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Test strips are less expensive per test than the alternative enzyme test, are familiar to staff and readily available.
But they were deemed "unsuitable" for the diagnosis of neonatal hypoglycemia by the World Health Organization in 1997 because they are designed to pick up high levels of blood sugar and not low levels.
Researchers from the Liggins Institute of Auckland University and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences ask hospitals to discontinue the heel sting test for the enzymatic test.
They also reversed the traditional wisdom about heel sting testing by finding it more expensive in the long run.
The test strips give a false result 20 to 30 percent of the time, requiring a second blood test to confirm the limit results. Jane Harding, from Auckland University, said that switching to the enzyme glucose test … "title =" "src =" https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/ dam / images / 1 / q / 0 / f / a / 6 / image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.1qssoq.png / 1531469693950.jpg "class =" photoborder "/>
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Jane Harding, a professor at the University of Auckland, said that switching to the enzyme glucose test would be cheaper. hospitals, and better health outcomes for babies.
Professor Jane Harding, who works for the Liggins Institute, said the imprecision of the test strips compromises baby care.
"Test strips are more likely than enzyme tests to give false positive results – the test says they have low blood sugar levels when they do not – resulting in unnecessary treatments ", did she say. more likely to miss cases – false negatives – which means that some babies are not getting the treatment they need.
Blood tests can be painful for babies and their families. She told the families at a critical time.
Harding, along with Matt Glasgow, Ph.D. student of Liggins and Dr. Richard Edlin, Lecturer, called for the modification of an article published in the journal Neonatology .
"It is hard to imagine another scenario in medicine where screening to guide the diagnosis and management of a threatening condition of the brain is commonly undertaken with the help of a doctor." an instrument known to be inaccurate and requiring abnormal results, the apparently short-term cost base, "they wrote.
They calculated the numbers and found that hospitals could save up to $ 300,000 each year when they changed their method of analysis.
It is estimated that about 20,000 babies need blood glucose tests each year in New Zealand. Harding estimates that three-quarters of these babies are screened for less accurate test strips.
If 20% of them give a false positive rate, at a cost of about $ 24.35 per tested baby, the switch to enzymatic testing could allow the hospital to And save $ 365,520 a year.
Last year, Harding conducted a study that showed children with low blood sugar were two to three times more likely to have difficulty with executive function (skills). for problem solving, planning, memory and attention). -The motor coordination at 4.5 years (fine control of movement and understanding of what you see) that children with normal blood sugar.
Not only would the switch to enzymatic testing save money, but it would improve care and potentially the outcome for these babies, Harding said.
"Our study clearly shows the benefits of changing tests, and hospitals should do it as soon as possible."
– References
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