Kolkata: The Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) and SSKM Hospital have become the first government establishments in the state to conduct newborn metabolic screening completely free of cost at the Neonatology department.
The decision has been taken by the SSKM Hospital authorities that metabolic screening would be performed on newborn infants to check metabolic ailments. According to the hospital sources, the screening is expected to begin at the hospital within the next two months.
The hospital authorities and the Neonatology department have been chalking out a detailed plan to run a comprehensive programme on metabolic screening. It was learnt that a separate unit would be set up at the Neonatology department where infants would undergo screening.
The infant metabolic screening helps the doctors to detect rare and life-threatening metabolic disorders in babies. Metabolic disorders are hard to be found without screening. According to standard procedure, the blood tests are done within 48 hours after a baby is born. Samples are then taken from babies heels.
If a child is diagnosed early with some metabolic disorders, the screening would determine the problems and the doctors will be able to start the treatment early.
It is often found that the infants suffer from metabolic disorders but ailments are not properly determined. Once the new system is in place, the treatment would be started in the hospital before a baby becomes sick. Screening also helps in identifying babies who are more likely to have such a disorder.
"Screening can help us towards the early detection of problems in infants and therefore will save lives. These disorders are not always cured. However, the early treatment with medication or a special diet can help babies stay fit and avoid severe disability," a senior doctor in the hospital said.
Metabolic disorders can affect any patient. There is a possibility for the infants getting affected with the metabolic disorder even when there is no family history.
The screening determines the serious disorders such as phenylketonuria (PKU), cystic fibrosis and congenital hypothyroidism. If not treated on time, PKU can lead to intellectual disability and mental disorders, doctors said.
The neonatologists at the hospital will inform pregnant mothers about the metabolic screening of their infants offered by the hospital after babies are born. They would also address the queries of the mothers in this regard. Early treatment of such disorders can check potentially serious complications.
Prof (Dr) Raghunath Misra, medical super-cum-vice-principal of the IPGMER & SSKM Hospital said the infant metabolic screening would be done at the hospital soon. A detailed plan has been made in this regard. Other information relating to the functioning of the metabolic screening of infants will be divulged later, Misra maintained.