New Method Predicts Complications Earlier.

• Position: NEWBORN SCREENING

Expanding routine newborn screening to include a metabolic vulnerability profile could lead to earlier detection of life-threatening complications in babies born preterm, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. The new method offers valuable and time-sensitive insights into which infants are at greatest risk during their most-vulnerable time--immediately after birth.

The study assessed the records of 9,639 preterm infants who experienced mortality or at least one complication.

Using the results of standard newborn profiles and blood tests, researchers identified a combination of six newborn characteristics and 19 metabolites that, together, created a vulnerability profile that reliably identified preterm babies at substantially increased risk for severe illness and/or death.

"Our results point to a number of potential biological pathways that may play a key role in the development of negative outcomes in babies born preterm," says epidemiologist and lead author Scott Oltman. "If we can better understand these pathways, new treatments or preventative measures may be possible."

Metabolites are molecules such as glucose or thyroid stimulating hormone that are...