Screening of children at enrollment in the 1st year - early detection of familial hypercholesterolemia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13112/pc.1183Keywords:
Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II; Mass Screening; Schools; Cholesterol; Lipoproteins, LDLAbstract
Aim: This paper demonstrates the importance of reverse cascade screening for familial hypercholesterolemia among children during routine examinations upon enrollment in the first grade of elementary school, in the school medical offices of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.
Methods: During the enrollment procedure, laboratory screenings for anemia, proteinuria, and hypercholesterolemia are performed on all enrollees. Based on the results obtained, the need for possible further laboratory or other diagnostic processing is assessed, and in indicated cases, a mandatory survey and counseling of parents is carried out.
Results: In the past three-year period, 0.9-1.41 % of children in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County had total cholesterol values above 6.1 mmol/L. 9,1-9.8 % of them had total cholesterol values in the range of 5.1 to 6.0 mmol/L. All others had values less than 5.0 mmol/L. More laboratory referrals were issued than returned results, and the reasons are multiple.
Conclusion: By implementing reverse cascade screening for hypercholesterolemia, our country has made a major step in disease prevention and is one of the few that, in this way, searches for the "silent killer" not only among the subjects, but also among their family members, especially parents, brothers, and sisters. During the implementation, we identified opportunities for improvement in what is being done, and we expect that the changes will contribute to the quality of screening.
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