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Published on: May 7, 2018
Determination of a steroid profile in heel prick blood using LC-MS/MS
Anita Boelen1, An F C Ruiter1, Hedi L Claahsen-van der Grinten2
1Department of Clinical Chemistry, Laboratory of Endocrinology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105AZ, The Netherlands.
Background:
The aim of this study was to improve the sensitivity of the congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) neonatal screening by including second-tier steroid profiling on a DBS using LC-MS.
Results:
We developed a method to measure the steroid profile in DBS and established gestational age-specific reference ranges of cortisol, cortisone, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, Δ4-androstenedione, corticosterone and 11-deoxycorticosterone using 450 heel prick samples of neonates, participating in the Dutch Screening Program. Analyzing 92 cards with a positive CAH screening showed that only 21-deoxycortisol was 100% specific for diagnosed CAH patients.
Conclusion:
Steroid precursors can be measured in DBS and we suggest to implement the method as a second tier testing for CAH in The Netherlands.
