In 2012, the Norwegian newborn screening program (NBS) was expanded (eNBS) from screening for two diseases to that for 23 diseases (20 inborn errors of metabolism, IEMs) and again in 2018, to include a total of 25 conditions (21 IEMs). Between 1 March 2012 and 29 February 2020, 461,369 newborns were screened for 20 IEMs in addition to phenylketonuria (PKU). Excluding PKU, there were 75 true-positive (TP) (1:6151) and 107 (1:4311) false-positive IEM cases. Twenty-one percent of the TP cases were symptomatic at the time of the NBS results, but in two-thirds, the screening result directed the exact diagnosis. Eighty-two percent of the TP cases had good health outcomes, evaluated in 2020. The yearly positive predictive value was increased from 26% to 54% by the use of the Region 4 Stork post-analytical interpretive tool (R4S)/Collaborative Laboratory Integrated Reports 2.0 (CLIR), second-tier biochemical testing and genetic confirmation using DNA extracted from the original dried blood spots. The incidence of IEMs increased by 46% after eNBS was introduced, predominantly due to the finding of attenuated phenotypes. The next step is defining which newborns would truly benefit from screening at the milder end of the disease spectrum. This will require coordinated international collaboration, including proper case definitions and outcome studies.

Untreated vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency may cause delayed development in infants. Several newborn screening (NBS) programs have reported an increased detection rate of B12 deficiency when second-tier dried blood spot (DBS) analyses of total homocysteine (tHcy) and methylmalonic acid (MMA) are included. This is a retrospective study of newborns reported from NBS during 2012–2021 with confirmed B12 deficiency. DBSs were retrieved from the NBS biobank for second-tier MMA and tHcy analysis. Thirty-one newborns were diagnosed with B12 deficiency out of 552970 screened. Twenty-five were ascertained from sixty-one false positive (FP) cases of methylmalonic acidemia and propionic acidemia (PA), and six infants screened positive for other NBS metabolic diseases with propionylcarnitine (C3) in the normal range. In the original DBS, 7/23 (30%) and 12/23 (52%) of B12-deficient newborns with FP methylmalonic acidemia/PA had MMA and tHcy > 99th percentile. B12 deficiency was a common differential diagnosis of screening positive for methylmalonic and PA. C3 failed to identify a subset of newborns with B12 deficiency. Second-tier MMA and tHcy analyses in the DBS showed suboptimal sensitivity for identifying infants with B12 deficiency. The shortcomings of NBS should be acknowledged when considering B12 deficiency as a primary target of NBS panels.

Background: The sensitivity of newborn screening (NBS) in detecting infants that later develop symptomatic vitamin B12 deficiency is unknown. We evaluated the predictive value using NBS algorithms in detecting infants that later were clinically diagnosed with symptomatic B12 deficiency. Furthermore, we investigated whether being born in a hospital using nitrous oxide (N₂O) as pain relief in labor may have had an impact on total homocysteine at NBS. Methods: We retrospectively retrieved NBS data and analyzed total homocysteine, methylmalonic acid and methyl citrate on stored NBS dried blood spots (DBS) of 70 infants diagnosed with symptomatic B12 deficiency and compared them to 646 matched and 434 unmatched DBS controls to evaluate the Austrian and Heidelberg B12 NBS algorithms. Results: The sensitivity of NBS in detecting infants later diagnosed with symptomatic B12 deficiency at median age 10.9 weeks was ≤10%. Total homocysteine was higher in DBS for the unmatched controls who were born in hospitals providing N₂O compared to in hospitals not providing N₂O, with median total homocysteine 4.0 µmol/L compared to 3.5 µmol/L (n = 434, 95% CI 0.04–0.87, p = 0.03). Conclusion: NBS algorithms were unable to identify most infants diagnosed with symptomatic B12 deficiency after the neonatal period. Being born in hospitals providing N₂O may impact total homocysteine at NBS.