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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY LEACH, ORIE, FONTANA, HUGHES, BREWSTER, FARNESE, COSTA, BROWNE, WASHINGTON, TARTAGLIONE AND BLAKE, JULY 25, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, JULY 25, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of September 9, 1965 (P.L.497, No.251), |
2 | entitled, as amended, "An act requiring physicians, hospitals |
3 | and other institutions to administer or cause to be |
4 | administered tests for genetic diseases upon infants in |
5 | certain cases," providing for congenital heart defects |
6 | screening. |
7 | The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: |
8 | (1) Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are structural |
9 | abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth. CHDs |
10 | range in severity from simple problems such as holes between |
11 | chambers of the heart, to severe malformations, such as |
12 | complete absence of one or more chambers or valves. Some |
13 | critical CHDs can cause severe and life-threatening symptoms |
14 | which require intervention within the first days of life. |
15 | (2) According to the United States Secretary of Health |
16 | and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders |
17 | in Newborns and Children, congenital heart disease affects |
18 | approximately seven to nine of very 1,000 live births in the |
19 | United States and Europe. The Federal Centers for Disease |
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1 | Control and Prevention states that CHD is the leading cause |
2 | of infant death due to birth defect. |
3 | (3) Current methods for detecting CHDs generally include |
4 | prenatal ultrasound screening and repeated clinical |
5 | examinations. While prenatal ultrasound screenings can detect |
6 | some major congenital heart defects, these screenings, alone, |
7 | identify less than half of all CHD cases, and critical CHD |
8 | cases are often missed during routine clinical exams |
9 | performed prior to a newborn's discharge from a birthing |
10 | facility. |
11 | (4) Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive test that estimates |
12 | the percentage of hemoglobin in blood that is saturated with |
13 | oxygen. When performed on a newborn a minimum of 24 hours |
14 | after birth, pulse oximetry screening is often more effective |
15 | at detecting critical, life-threatening CHDs which otherwise |
16 | go undetected by current screening methods. Newborns with |
17 | abnormal pulse oximetry results require immediate |
18 | confirmatory testing and intervention. |
19 | (5) Many newborn lives could potentially be saved by |
20 | earlier detection and treatment of CHDs if birthing |
21 | facilities in this Commonwealth were required to perform this |
22 | simple, noninvasive newborn screening in conjunction with |
23 | current CH screening methods. |
24 | This section shall be known and may be cited as the James |
25 | Matthew Mannix section. |
26 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
27 | hereby enacts as follows: |
28 | Section 1. The act of September 9, 1965 (P.L.497, No.251), |
29 | known as the Newborn Child Testing Act, is amended by adding a |
30 | section to read: |
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1 | Section 4.1. Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs) Screening.--The |
2 | department shall require each health care provider that provides |
3 | birthing and newborn care services to perform a pulse oximetry |
4 | screening a minimum of 24 hours after birth on every newborn |
5 | child in its care. |
6 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days. |
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