Welcome to NGC. Skip directly to: Search Box, Navigation, Content.

Complete Summary

GUIDELINE TITLE

Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCE(S)

  • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); 2007 Sep. 10 p. [7 references]

GUIDELINE STATUS

This is the current release of the guideline.

This release updates a previously published guideline: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Guide to clinical preventive services. 2nd ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1996. Chapter 43, Screening for hemoglobinopathies. p. 485-94. [53 references]

COMPLETE SUMMARY CONTENT

 SCOPE
 METHODOLOGY - including Rating Scheme and Cost Analysis
 RECOMMENDATIONS
 EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS
 BENEFITS/HARMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS
 QUALIFYING STATEMENTS
 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GUIDELINE
 INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE (IOM) NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY REPORT CATEGORIES
 IDENTIFYING INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY
 DISCLAIMER

SCOPE

DISEASE/CONDITION(S)

Sickle cell disease

GUIDELINE CATEGORY

Prevention
Screening

CLINICAL SPECIALTY

Family Practice
Hematology
Internal Medicine
Medical Genetics
Nursing
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Pediatrics
Preventive Medicine

INTENDED USERS

Advanced Practice Nurses
Allied Health Personnel
Health Care Providers
Nurses
Physician Assistants
Physicians

GUIDELINE OBJECTIVE(S)

  • To summarize the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations and supporting scientific evidence on routine screening for sickle cell disease in newborns
  • To update the 1996 USPSTF recommendations on routine screening for hemoglobinopathies in newborns

TARGET POPULATION

All newborns

INTERVENTIONS AND PRACTICES CONSIDERED

Routine screening of newborns for sickle cell disease

MAJOR OUTCOMES CONSIDERED

Benefits and harms of screening newborns for sickle cell disease

Top^

METHODOLOGY

METHODS USED TO COLLECT/SELECT EVIDENCE

Hand-searches of Published Literature (Primary Sources)
Hand-searches of Published Literature (Secondary Sources)
Searches of Electronic Databases

DESCRIPTION OF METHODS USED TO COLLECT/SELECT THE EVIDENCE

Note from the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC): A targeted review of the literature was prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for use by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) (see the "Availability of Companion Documents" field).

In 2007, the USPSTF decided to update its recommendation statement on screening for hemoglobinopathies in newborns. Noting that the 1996 recommendation was made on a strong evidence base and that it would take large, high-quality studies or evidence of substantial harms to overturn the current recommendation, the USPSTF chose to perform a reaffirmation update for this topic. The USPSTF performs reaffirmation updates for older recommendation statements that remain USPSTF priorities, are within the scope of the USPSTF, and for which there is compelling reason for the USPSTF to have a current recommendation statement.

Literature Search Process

AHRQ staff performed a targeted literature search for the benefits of screening for hemoglobinopathies and the potential harms of screening. A baseline search strategy was not available from the 1996 USPSTF recommendation. For this reaffirmation update, searches were limited to the period 1/1/95 to 12/31/06.

Consistent with USPSTF reaffirmation update protocols, initial searches were limited to PubMed core journals. When the initial searches revealed a paucity of eligible articles, the searches were expanded to include non-core journals. Results from PubMed searches were supplemented with recommendations from subject matter experts and reference list reviews.

Since the 1996 USPSTF recommendation was based on strong evidence of benefit from early penicillin prophylaxis, rather than evidence of benefit in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of screening versus no screening, a supplemental search limited to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was performed to identify new evidence regarding the benefit of prophylactic medication in patients with sickle cell anemia.

All articles were reviewed for predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria by two team members at each stage of review (title/abstract, full article). A consensus process was used to resolve any reviews which resulted in differences of opinion.

Basic outline of PubMed search strategies:

  • English
  • Human
  • Publication Date from 01/01/1995 to 12/31/2006

For benefits

  • MeSH terms: "hemoglobinopathies," "mass screening"
  • Limited to: Randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews

For harms

  • MeSH terms: "hemoglobinopathies," "mass screening"
  • Other terms: "false positive reactions," "harms," "anxiety"
  • Excluded: Editorials, comments, news items and letters

A series of searches using combinations of Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms and subsets and keyword searches were performed.

NUMBER OF SOURCE DOCUMENTS

Sixty-nine studies were initially identified. One systematic review of benefits of screening, one systematic review of benefits of penicillin prophylaxis, and three articles about potential harms met inclusion criteria and are discussed in the evidence review.

METHODS USED TO ASSESS THE QUALITY AND STRENGTH OF THE EVIDENCE

Expert Consensus

RATING SCHEME FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE EVIDENCE

Not applicable

METHODS USED TO ANALYZE THE EVIDENCE

Systematic Review with Evidence Tables

DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODS USED TO ANALYZE THE EVIDENCE

Note from the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC): A targeted review was prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for use by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) (see the "Companion Documents" field).

The USPSTF considered each link in the evidence chain for a screening service to make its recommendations (for further discussion of USPSTF methods, please see http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/ajpmsuppl/harris1.htm and http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf07/methods/currprocess.htm). These included the accuracy of screening tests, the effectiveness of treatment, estimating the potential magnitude of benefit from screening, and bounding the potential for harms of screening and treatment.

METHODS USED TO FORMULATE THE RECOMMENDATIONS

Balance Sheets
Expert Consensus

DESCRIPTION OF METHODS USED TO FORMULATE THE RECOMMENDATIONS

When the overall quality of the evidence is judged to be good or fair, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) proceeds to consider the magnitude of net benefit to be expected from implementation of the preventive service. Determining net benefit requires assessing both the magnitude of benefits and the magnitude of harms and weighing the two.

The USPSTF classifies benefits, harms, and net benefits on a 4-point scale: "substantial," "moderate," "small," and "zero/negative."

"Outcomes tables" (similar to 'balance sheets') are the USPSTF's standard resource for estimating the magnitude of benefit. These tables, prepared by the topic teams for use at USPSTF meetings, compare the condition specific outcomes expected for a hypothetical primary care population with and without use of the preventive service. These comparisons may be extended to consider only people of specified age or risk groups or other aspects of implementation. Thus, outcomes tables allow the USPSTF to examine directly how the preventive services affects benefits for various groups.

When evidence on harms is available, the topic teams assess its quality in a manner like that for benefits and include adverse events in the outcomes tables. When few harms data are available, the USPSTF does not assume that harms are small or nonexistent. It recognizes a responsibility to consider which harms are likely and judge their potential frequency and the severity that might ensue from implementing the service. It uses whatever evidence exists to construct a general confidence interval on the 4-point scale (e.g., substantial, moderate, small, and zero/negative).

Value judgments are involved in using the information in an outcomes table to rate either benefits or harms on the USPSTF's 4-point scale. Value judgments are also needed to weigh benefits against harms to arrive a rating of net benefit.

In making its determinations of net benefit, the USPSTF strives to consider what it believes are the general values of most people. It does this with greater confidence for certain outcomes (e.g., death) about which there is little disagreement about undesirability, but it recognizes that the degree of risk people are willing to accept to avert other outcomes (e.g., cataracts) can vary considerably. When the USPSTF perceives that preferences among individuals vary greatly, and that these variations are sufficient to make trade-off of benefits and harms a 'close-call', then it will often assign a C recommendation (see the "Recommendation Rating Scheme" field). This recommendation indicates the decision is likely to be sensitive to individual patient preferences.

The USPSTF uses its assessment of the evidence and magnitude of net benefit to make recommendations. The general principles the USPSTF follows in making recommendations are outlined in Table 5 of the companion document cited below. The USPSTF liaisons on the topic team compose the first drafts of the recommendations and rationale statements, which the full panel then reviews and edits. Recommendations are based on formal voting procedures that include explicit rules for determining the views of the majority.

From: Harris RP, Helfand M, Woolf SH, Lohr KN, Mulrow, CD, Teutsch SM, Atkins D. Current methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: a review of the process. Methods Work Group, Third U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Am J Prev Med 2001 Apr;20(3S):21-35.

RATING SCHEME FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS

What the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Grades Mean and Suggestions for Practice

Grade Grade Definitions Suggestions for Practice
A The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is substantial. Offer/provide this service.
B The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. Offer/provide this service.
C The USPSTF recommends against routinely providing the service. There may be considerations that support providing the service in an individual patient. There is moderate or high certainty that the net benefit is small. Offer/provide this service only if there are other considerations in support of the offering/providing the service in an individual patient.
D The USPSTF recommends against the service. There is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits. Discourage the use of this service.
I
Statement 		The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the service. Evidence is lacking, of poor quality or conflicting, and the balance of benefits and harms cannot be determined. Read "Clinical Considerations" section of USPSTF Recommendation Statement (see "Major Recommendations" field). If offered, patients should understand the uncertainty about the balance of benefits and harms.

USPSTF Levels of Certainty Regarding Net Benefit

Definition: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force defines certainty as "likelihood that the USPSTF assessment of the net benefit of a preventive service is correct." The net benefit is defined as benefit minus harm of the preventive service as implemented in a general, primary care population. The USPSTF assigns a certainty level based on the nature of the overall evidence available to assess the net benefit of a preventive service.

Level of Certainty Description
High The available evidence usually includes consistent results from well-designed, well-conducted studies in representative primary care populations. These studies assess the effects of the preventive service on health outcomes. This conclusion is therefore unlikely to be strongly affected by the results of future studies.
Moderate The available evidence is sufficient to determine the effects of the preventive service on health outcomes, but confidence in the estimate is constrained by factors such as:
  • the number, size, or quality of individual studies;
  • inconsistency of findings across individual studies;
  • limited generalizability of findings to routine primary care practice; or
  • lack of coherence in the chain of evidence.
As more information becomes available, the magnitude or direction of the observed effect could change, and this change may be large enough to alter the conclusion.
Low The available evidence is insufficient to assess effects on health outcomes. Evidence is insufficient because of:
  • the limited number or size of studies;
  • important flaws in study design or methods;
  • inconsistency of findings across individual studies
  • gaps in the chain of evidence;
  • findings not generalizable to routine primary care practice; or
  • a lack of information on important health outcomes.
More information may allow an estimation of effects on health outcomes.

COST ANALYSIS

A formal cost analysis was not performed and published cost analyses were not reviewed.

METHOD OF GUIDELINE VALIDATION

Comparison with Guidelines from Other Groups
External Peer Review
Internal Peer Review

DESCRIPTION OF METHOD OF GUIDELINE VALIDATION

Peer Review. Before the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force makes its final determinations about recommendations on a given preventive service, the Evidence-based Practice Center and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality send a draft evidence review to 4 to 6 external experts and to federal agencies and professional and disease-based health organizations with interests in the topic. They ask the experts to examine the review critically for accuracy and completeness and to respond to a series of specific questions about the document. After assembling these external review comments and documenting the proposed response to key comments, the topic team presents this information to the Task Force in memo form. In this way, the Task Force can consider these external comments and a final version of the systematic review before it votes on its recommendations about the service. Draft recommendation statements are then circulated for comment from reviewers representing professional societies, voluntary organizations and Federal agencies. These comments are discussed before the final recommendations are confirmed.

Comparison with Guidelines from Other Groups. Recommendations for screening from the following groups were discussed: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American College of Medical Genetics.

Top^

RECOMMENDATIONS

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

The US Preventive Services Task Force grades its recommendations (A, B, C, D, or I) and identifies the Levels of Certainty regarding Net Benefit (High, Moderate, and Low). The definitions of these grades can be found at the end of the "Major Recommendations" field.

Summary of the Recommendations

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for sickle cell disease in newborns. This is an A recommendation

Clinical Considerations

Patient Population Under Consideration

This recommendation applies to all newborns.

Screening Tests

Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns is mandated in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Most states use either thin-layer isoelectric focusing (IEF) or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as the initial screening test. Both methods have extremely high sensitivity and specificity for sickle cell anemia. Specimens must be drawn prior to any blood transfusion due to the potential for a false negative result as a result of the transfusion. Extremely premature infants may have false positive results when adult hemoglobin is undetectable.

Timing of Screening

All newborns should undergo testing regardless of birth setting. In general, birth attendants should make arrangements for samples to be obtained, and the first physician to see the child at an office visit should verify screening results. Confirmatory testing should occur no later than 2 months of age.

Treatment

Children with sickle cell anemia should begin prophylactic penicillin by 2 months of age and receive pneumococcal immunizations at recommended intervals.

Definitions:

What the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Grades Mean and Suggestions for Practice

Grade Grade Definitions Suggestions for Practice
A The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is substantial. Offer/provide this service.
B The USPSTF recommends the service. There is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. Offer/provide this service.
C The USPSTF recommends against routinely providing the service. There may be considerations that support providing the service in an individual patient. There is moderate or high certainty that the net benefit is small. Offer/provide this service only if there are other considerations in support of the offering/providing the service in an individual patient.
D The USPSTF recommends against the service. There is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits. Discourage the use of this service.
I
Statement 		The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of the service. Evidence is lacking, of poor quality or conflicting, and the balance of benefits and harms cannot be determined. Read "Clinical Considerations" section of USPSTF Recommendation Statement (see "Major Recommendations" field). If offered, patients should understand the uncertainty about the balance of benefits and harms.

USPSTF Levels of Certainty Regarding Net Benefit

Definition: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force defines certainty as "likelihood that the USPSTF assessment of the net benefit of a preventive service is correct." The net benefit is defined as benefit minus harm of the preventive service as implemented in a general, primary care population. The USPSTF assigns a certainty level based on the nature of the overall evidence available to assess the net benefit of a preventive service.

Level of Certainty Description
High The available evidence usually includes consistent results from well-designed, well-conducted studies in representative primary care populations. These studies assess the effects of the preventive service on health outcomes. This conclusion is therefore unlikely to be strongly affected by the results of future studies.
Moderate The available evidence is sufficient to determine the effects of the preventive service on health outcomes, but confidence in the estimate is constrained by factors such as:
  • the number, size, or quality of individual studies;
  • inconsistency of findings across individual studies;
  • limited generalizability of findings to routine primary care practice; or
  • lack of coherence in the chain of evidence.
As more information becomes available, the magnitude or direction of the observed effect could change, and this change may be large enough to alter the conclusion.
Low The available evidence is insufficient to assess effects on health outcomes. Evidence is insufficient because of:
  • the limited number or size of studies;
  • important flaws in study design or methods;
  • inconsistency of findings across individual studies
  • gaps in the chain of evidence;
  • findings not generalizable to routine primary care practice; or
  • a lack of information on important health outcomes.
More information may allow an estimation of effects on health outcomes.

CLINICAL ALGORITHM(S)

None available

Top^

EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS

TYPE OF EVIDENCE SUPPORTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS

The type of supporting evidence is not specifically stated for each recommendation.

Top^

BENEFITS/HARMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE GUIDELINE RECOMMENDATIONS

POTENTIAL BENEFITS

Benefits of Detection and Early Intervention

There is good evidence that early detection of sickle cell anemia followed by prophylactic oral penicillin substantially reduces the risk of serious infections during the first few years of life. Additional benefits result from pneumococcal conjugate vaccination and parental education about early warning signs of infection. Finally, detection of sickle cell disease permits counseling for family members about disease management and future reproductive decisions.

POTENTIAL HARMS

Harms of Detection and Early Treatment

Incidental detection of sickle cell carrier status and hemoglobin disorders of questionable clinical significance has the potential to cause psychosocial harms, which may include exposure of non-paternity, stigma and discrimination, negative impact on self-esteem, and anxiety about future health.

Top^

QUALIFYING STATEMENTS

QUALIFYING STATEMENTS

  • The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) makes recommendations about preventive care services for patients without recognized signs or symptoms of the target condition.
  • Recommendations are based on a systematic review of the evidence of the benefits and harms and an assessment of the net benefit of the service.
  • The USPSTF recognizes that clinical or policy decisions involve more considerations than this body of evidence alone. Clinicians and policy-makers should understand the evidence but individualize decision making to the specific patient or situation.
Top^

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GUIDELINE

DESCRIPTION OF IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

The experiences of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), as well as that of other evidence-based guideline efforts, have highlighted the importance of identifying effective ways to implement clinical recommendations. Practice guidelines are relatively weak tools for changing clinical practice when used in isolation. To effect change, guidelines must be coupled with strategies to improve their acceptance and feasibility. Such strategies include enlisting the support of local opinion leaders, using reminder systems for clinicians and patients, adopting standing orders, and audit and feedback of information to clinicians about their compliance with recommended practice.

In the case of preventive services guidelines, implementation needs to go beyond traditional dissemination and promotion efforts to recognize the added patient and clinician barriers that affect preventive care. These include clinicians' ambivalence about whether preventive medicine is part of their job, the psychological and practical challenges that patients face in changing behaviors, lack of access to health care or of insurance coverage for preventive services for some patients, competing pressures within the context of shorter office visits, and the lack of organized systems in most practices to ensure the delivery of recommended preventive care.

Dissemination strategies have changed dramatically in this age of electronic information. While recognizing the continuing value of journals and other print formats for dissemination, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality makes all U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) products available through its Web site. The combination of electronic access and extensive material in the public domain should make it easier for a broad audience of users to access U.S. Preventive Services Task Force materials and adapt them for their local needs. Online access to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force products also opens up new possibilities for the appearance of the annual, pocket-size Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. USPSTF recommendations also are available in an electronic selector tool. The ePSS can be accessed on the Internet or downloaded to a PDA.

To be successful, approaches for implementing prevention have to be tailored to the local level and deal with the specific barriers at a given site, typically requiring the redesign of systems of care. Such a systems approach to prevention has had notable success in established staff-model health maintenance organizations, by addressing organization of care, emphasizing a philosophy of prevention, and altering the training and incentives for clinicians. Staff-model plans also benefit from integrated information systems that can track the use of needed services and generate automatic reminders aimed at patients and clinicians, some of the most consistently successful interventions. Information systems remain a major challenge for individual clinicians' offices, however, as well as for looser affiliations of practices in network-model managed care and independent practice associations, where data on patient visits, referrals, and test results are not always centralized.

IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

Foreign Language Translations
Patient Resources
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Downloads
Pocket Guide/Reference Cards
Tool Kits
Wall Poster

For information about availability, see the "Availability of Companion Documents" and "Patient Resources" fields below.

Top^

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE (IOM) NATIONAL HEALTHCARE QUALITY REPORT CATEGORIES

IOM CARE NEED

Staying Healthy

IOM DOMAIN

Effectiveness
Patient-centeredness

Top^

IDENTIFYING INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SOURCE(S)

  • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for sickle cell disease in newborns: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); 2007 Sep. 10 p. [7 references]

ADAPTATION

Not applicable: The guideline was not adapted from another source.

DATE RELEASED

1996 (revised 2007)

GUIDELINE DEVELOPER(S)

United States Preventive Services Task Force - Independent Expert Panel

GUIDELINE DEVELOPER COMMENT

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a Federally-appointed panel of independent experts. Conclusions of the USPSTF do not necessarily reflect policy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) or DHHS agencies.

SOURCE(S) OF FUNDING

United States Government

GUIDELINE COMMITTEE

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)

COMPOSITION OF GROUP THAT AUTHORED THE GUIDELINE

Corresponding Author: Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, Chair, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, c/o Program Director, USPSTF, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Task Force Members*: Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, Chair, USPSTF (Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO); Diana B. Petitti, MD, MPH, Vice-chair, USPSTF (Adjunct Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Sierra Madre, CA); Thomas G. DeWitt, MD (Carl Weihl Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH); Allen J. Dietrich, MD (Associate Director for Population Sciences, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH); Leon Gordis, MD, MPH, DrPH (Professor, Epidemiology Department, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD); Kimberly D. Gregory, MD, MPH (Director, Women's Health Services Research and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA); Russell Harris, MD, MPH (Professor of Medicine, Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC); George Isham, MD, MS (Medical Director and Chief Health Officer, HealthPartners, Minneapolis, MN); Michael L. LeFevre, MD, MSPH (Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO); Rosanne M. Leipzig, MD, PhD (Professor, Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Medicine, and Health Policy; Vice Chair For Education, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY); Carol Loveland-Cherry, PhD, RN (Executive Associate Dean, Office of Academic Affairs, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI); Lucy N. Marion, PhD, RN (Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA); Virginia A. Moyer, MD, MPH (Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX); Judith K. Ockene, PhD (Professor of Medicine and Chief of Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA); George F. Sawaya, MD (Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA); and Barbara P. Yawn, MD, MSc (Director of Research, Olmstead Research Center, Rochester, MN)

*Members of the Task Force at the time this recommendation was finalized. For a list of current Task Force members, go to www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfab.htm.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES/CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Not stated

GUIDELINE STATUS

This is the current release of the guideline.

This release updates a previously published guideline: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Guide to clinical preventive services. 2nd ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1996. Chapter 43, Screening for hemoglobinopathies. p. 485-94. [53 references]

GUIDELINE AVAILABILITY

Electronic copies: Available from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Web site.

AVAILABILITY OF COMPANION DOCUMENTS

The following are available:

Background Articles:

  • Barton M et al. How to Read the new Recommendation Statement: Methods Update from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:123-127.
  • Guirguis-Blake J et al. Current Processes of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Refining Evidence-Based Recommendation Development. Ann Intern Med. 2007;147:117-122. [2 references]
  • Harris RP, Helfand M, Woolf SH, Lohr KN, Mulrow, CD, Teutsch SM, Atkins D. Current methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: a review of the process. Methods Work Group, Third U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Am J Prev Med 2001 Apr;20(3S):21-35.

Electronic copies: Available from the USPSTF Web site.

The following is also available:

  • The guide to clinical preventive services, 2006. Recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2006. 228 p. Electronic copies available from the AHRQ Web site.
  • A step-by-step guide to delivering clinical preventive services: a systems approach. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2002 May. 189 p. Electronic copies available from the AHRQ Web site. See the related QualityTool summary on the Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site.

Print copies: Available from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Publications Clearinghouse. For more information, go to http://www.ahrq.gov/news/pubsix.htm or call 1-800-358-9295 (U.S. only).

The Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS), available as a PDA application and a web-based tool, is a quick hands-on tool designed to help primary care clinicians identify the screening, counseling, and preventive medication services that are appropriate for their patients. It is based on current recommendations of the USPSTF and can be searched by specific patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and selected behavioral risk factors.

PATIENT RESOURCES

The following is available:

  • The Pocket Guide to Good Health for Children. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); 2004.

Electronic copies: Available from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Web site. Copies also available in Spanish from the USPSTF Web site.

Please note: This patient information is intended to provide health professionals with information to share with their patients to help them better understand their health and their diagnosed disorders. By providing access to this patient information, it is not the intention of NGC to provide specific medical advice for particular patients. Rather we urge patients and their representatives to review this material and then to consult with a licensed health professional for evaluation of treatment options suitable for them as well as for diagnosis and answers to their personal medical questions. This patient information has been derived and prepared from a guideline for health care professionals included on NGC by the authors or publishers of that original guideline. The patient information is not reviewed by NGC to establish whether or not it accurately reflects the original guideline's content.

NGC STATUS

This summary was completed by ECRI on June 30, 1998. The information was verified by the guideline developer on December 1, 1998. This NGC summary was updated by ECRI Institute on September 13, 2007. The updated information was verified by the guideline developer on September 18, 2007.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

Requests regarding copyright should be sent to: Randie A. Siegel, Electronic Dissemination Advisor, Division of Print and Electronic Publishing, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research), 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20852; Facsimile: 301-427-1873; E-mail: Randie.siegel@ahrq.hhs.gov.

Top^

DISCLAIMER

NGC DISCLAIMER

The National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC) does not develop, produce, approve, or endorse the guidelines represented on this site.

All guidelines summarized by NGC and hosted on our site are produced under the auspices of medical specialty societies, relevant professional associations, public or private organizations, other government agencies, health care organizations or plans, and similar entities.

Guidelines represented on the NGC Web site are submitted by guideline developers, and are screened solely to determine that they meet the NGC Inclusion Criteria which may be found at http://www.guideline.gov/about/inclusion.aspx .

NGC, AHRQ, and its contractor ECRI Institute make no warranties concerning the content or clinical efficacy or effectiveness of the clinical practice guidelines and related materials represented on this site. Moreover, the views and opinions of developers or authors of guidelines represented on this site do not necessarily state or reflect those of NGC, AHRQ, or its contractor ECRI Institute, and inclusion or hosting of guidelines in NGC may not be used for advertising or commercial endorsement purposes.

Readers with questions regarding guideline content are directed to contact the guideline developer.
Top^

 


Search Help
Detailed Search
Frequent Searches

Summary

Brief Summary
Complete Summary
XML View
Full Text
Palm Download
MS Word
Adobe PDF

Browse

» Disease / Condition
» Treatment / Intervention
» Measures
» Organization
» Guideline Index
» Guidelines In Progress
» Guideline Archive

Compare

» View My Collection
» Add to My Collection
» Guideline Syntheses

 

   
DHHS Logo