Article Text
Abstract
Aims: To investigate the immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) values above the usual 99th centile laboratory cut-off and determine the value of offering further testing to those infants with a markedly elevated IRT but no cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene mutation identified by the screening programme.
Methods: All babies born in Victoria, Australia, between 1991 and 2003, were screened by IRT followed by CF gene mutation analysis.
Results: Of the 806 520 babies born, 9268 with the highest IRT levels had CFTR mutation analysis. There were 123 ΔF508 homozygotes and 703 heterozygotes (86 with CF, 617 carriers). A total of 8442 babies had no CFTR gene mutation, of whom 18 (0.21%) had CF. The total number of CF babies with IRT greater than the laboratory cut-off was 227 (2.4%). The IRT results of the CF patients were distributed normally, with the majority above the laboratory cut-off of newborn IRT results. There was no evidence of an excess of babies with CF in the very highest levels of IRT above the 99th centile.
Conclusions: Only a small proportion of babies with a neonatal IRT >99th centile have CF. Additional CF testing for infants with an elevated IRT but no CFTR gene mutation has an extremely low yield, no matter how high the IRT result.
- CF, cystic fibrosis
- CFTR, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
- MI, meconium ileus
- MoM, multiples of median
- NBS, newborn screening
- PPV, positive predictive value
- newborn screening
- cystic fibrosis
- immunoreactive trypsinogen
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Footnotes
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Published Online First 21 October 2005
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Competing interests: none