Triagem neonatal: o panorama atual no estado do Amapá

Newborn screening comprises a set of tests that aim to detect pathologies in newborns and should be performed preferably between the 3rd and 7th month of life. The scree-ning detects six congenital anomalies: phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, biotinidase deficiency, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. According to the Ministry of Health, in 2007 the state of Amapa had the lowest population coverage for the screening tests in Brazil. Through a qualitative methodology, institu-tional data were collected in the reference laboratory of the State at the Institute of Hematology and Hemotherapy of Amapa (Hemoap), and a questionnaire was applied to the mothers or guardians of neonates at the moment of the test. Only 5 of the 16 muni-cipalities investigated carried out the newborn screening, providing a coverage of 31.2%. Regarding the questionnaires, the majority of the individuals did not have knowledge about the importance of the screening test; in contrast, 100.0% of the interviewed people said they had an interest in getting the results. Nevertheless, the study raised neglected data from 2013 to 2015, showing that there is a great disinterest by mothers or guardians and that the National Newborn Screening Program in Amapa is far from having a complete coverage and that databases are scarce regarding the information about this state.