Newborns and Infants

RECOMMENDED AGE FOR SCREENING

We do not recommend routine blood work in clinically healthy newborns and young infants (<1 year old). A reasonable approach is to screen the parents first and offer screening for their infants only if the parents test positive for potentially vertically transmissible diseases (HIV, hepatitis, syphilis, α/β thalassemia or sickle cell carriers).

 

METABOLIC SCREENING

A newborn metabolic screening can be considered in newborns or young infants born in a country where this is not routinely done after birth.

 

LATENT TB SCREENING

Tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) should not be performed in infants <6 months old. This is mainly due to the higher rates of false negative results in this age group.

In addition, latent TB screening with interferon-gamma release assays is currently not recommended for children <2 years old. A TST should thus be used for patients between the age of 6 months and 2 years.