Early Check Study Disclaimer

The program offers parents the choice to screen their newborn for a carefully selected set of health conditions that include and go beyond standard newborn screening. Early Check partners include RTI International, the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Screening tests provide an early opportunity to detect many disorders before symptoms appear. Not all affected infants demonstrate characteristic manifestations of these disorders. Not all newborns will be identified through screening. The sensitivity of screening tests depends on various factors, including the way the specimen is collected, the infant’s age at testing, birth weight, gestational age, feeding type, transfusion status, and the presence of co-existing illness, medical conditions and medications. Screening tests do not represent a diagnosis or treatment and are not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional. RTI International does not engage in rendering medical advice or services. If an infant with normal screening test results has symptoms of a disorder, or medical problems associated with metabolic disorders, the healthcare provider should apply his or her own professional judgment to the specific clinical circumstances presented by the individual patient in determining the propriety of further diagnostic tests that may be necessary, regardless of the baby’s newborn screening results.