To the Editor: We write to encourage policy debate over newborn screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Classical CAH is a severe, life-threatening disease affecting about one in 15 000 liveborn infants in Australia.1 An inexpensive screening test for newborns is available, but this test is not included in the current newborn screening program in Australia.
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- 1 Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
- 2 Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, Sydney, NSW.
- 3 CLAN (Caring and Living As Neighbours), Sydney, NSW.
- 4 Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.
- 5 Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW.
- 6 Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC.
- 7 University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.
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