[Comparative presentation of current economic evaluation studies for phenylketonuria screening]

A systematic review was undertaken to assess the economic value of PKU screening in the framework of newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism. Therefore, seven international studies on this topic were connected and examined with regard to differences and similarities. The relation between costs and benefits of PKU-screening programmes goes from 1:1,2 up to 1:9,25. The differences can be explained by varying incidence of PKU (in international comparison) and particularly by methodical differences in the respective study designs. This aspect is pointed out while taking up and emphasising the necessity of standardisation in economic evaluation studies. Furthermore, future developments (chances, trends, changes) in newborn screening are discussed, based on the potential use of new technologies.