[Neonatal screening for phenylketonuria and hypothyroidism in France. A 12-year experience].

The authors report their experience in the systematic, co-ordinated and controlled neonatal screening in France: a coverage of approximately 100 per cent for several years, nearly 13 millions of tests for phenylketonuria and more than 7 millions for hypothyroidism, almost 850 phenylketonuric children and more than 1,600 patients with hypothyroidism, screened and taken care of. The frequency of phenylketonuria is estimated at 1 for 16,394 and the frequency of hypothyroidism at 1 for 4,041. They insist on the need for a strict investigation of false negatives and point out a few specific points on the care of affected children. Overall, the assessment of neonatal screening is positive since it has allowed 2,500 children, doomed to mental retardation, to have a normal growth.