The Retrospective Audit In Decline Rates In The South East Thames Screening Laboratory
Thursday, 15 September, 2016
Introduction
Before a child is screened the parents are allowed to make an informed decision about whether or not to consent to testing. In some cases, the parents choose to decline screening. Statistically speaking, a positive case may be missed in a child that is not screened. For example, this year a baby that was originally declined for screening, was confirmed positive for cystic fibrosis (CF) after being referred due to clinical suspicion for CF. Although the likelihood is of this happening is low, the importance of screening should still be emphasised to parents since these cases can happen. The aim of this audit was to determine the decline rate over a selected period and to observe any trends in the decline samples that we receive.
