Table 1.
Characteristics of Newborn Screening Dried Blood Spot Specimens Included in the Survey
| Characteristic | November 2019–December 2020 | March 2019 (Presumed Seronegative) | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total specimens punched | 93 660 | 2372 | 96 105 a |
| Types of specimens not meeting inclusion criteriab | |||
| Specimens not collected for typical NBS purposesc | 3126 | 76 | 3202 |
| Specimens declared unsatisfactory for any NBS assayd | 2304 | 79 | 2383 |
| Specimens from infants transfused within 48 hours of collection | 98 | 3 | 101 |
| Specimens collected from nonneonates (aged ≥30 days) | 2685 | 56 | 2741 |
| Specimens from all but first neonate from a multiples birth | 1967 | 57 | 2024 |
| Specimens of neonates whose mother is not Massachusetts resident | 2521 | 56 | 2577 |
| Specimens that are “repeat” NBS specimens | 8116 | 219 | 8335 |
| Research exclusion requested by parent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total specimens not meeting inclusion criteria | 20 817 (22%) | 546 (23%) | 21 363 (22%) |
| Punched specimens meeting inclusion criteria | 72 843 | 1826 | 74 669 |
| Specimens not meeting technical quality data | 726 (0.99%) | 9 (0.49%) | 735 (0.98%) |
| Specimens linked to quality-controlled results | 72 117 | 1817 | 73 934 |
Abbreviation: NBS, newborn screening.
Includes 73 punched specimens that were not linkable to the newborn database.
List is progressive, and specimens are only counted in each category once.
For example, collected from patient’s parent or sibling, collected from patient to monitor treatment.
Unsatisfactory includes conventional quality control issues: poor soak, scratched/abraded, improperly dried, layered/clotted, contaminated/diluted, quantity not sufficient (QNS), no blood, no demographics. Unbolded numbers are unsatisfactory samples; bolded numbers highlight the number of specimens punched, meeting demographic inclusion criteria, and finally those linked to results.