CONTINUING EDUCATION Tandem Mass Spectrometry in Newborn Screening A Primer for Neonatal and

Since I 96 I nt:\ \ born screening for t.:rror!t of mctabolbm (E\1) lla!> unpro\-ctl the di.1~o!tb, trt:Oit-mcnt anti outcome of newboms wil.h an EM Rcccmly. advance'> In laboratory tc'Chnologr with tandem rna' ~!tpectromct 'l (M / M) ha. ' incrt.~.t.,ctl the identification of nc'\ \ bom ~ with an E~l With a single tlm:d filter paper hlood!>pOt (Guthrie R, "iw.l A. A ~unplc phcnyla.lanlnc met.hod for detecting PKl m large popubtion ~ of oe' ' bom infan1s. Pt!diatrlcs I %3.:H 338-343). ~I / MS c:tn t<.lcmil) more than ~() dbonler; ol metaboU:.m Tim rcv1cw will explon. M!-,1\15 to provide a better undcr,tandmg of the dev<:Jopmem.tnd applic.ttion of thi!t tcchnoh,!n to newborn screening for perinatal and neonatal nur.es. Key ~ords: enYJI'S of metabolism metabolrc tliseases, neu•born screening, tandem mass spectrrmii!IIJ' I N 1961, Or Robc:n Guthrie developed a ~en·itivc. but ~imple and inexpensive, creen-ing test for phenylketonuria (PKU). 1 1111:. ~creening u: ·t used a bacterial inhibition.ts-f'l:ty of dried blood collected on ft1ter paper w mt:a!>ure phcnrla laninc. With early identi-fic:uicm of newborn ~ with PKU, earlier initia