Does routine child health surveillance contribute to the early detection of children with pervasive developmental disorders?
Tebruegge M; Nandini V; Ritchie J Department of Community Paediatrics, Maidstone Weald Primary Care NHS Trust, Preston Hall Hospital, Maidstone, Kent ME20 7NJ, United Kingdom. MARC.TEBRUGGE@lshtm.ac.uk BACKGROUND: Recently changed guidelines for child health surveillance in the United Kingdom (U.K.) suggest targeted checks only, instead of the previously conducted routine or universal screening at 2 years and 3.5 years. There are concerns that these changes could lead to a delay in the detection of children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Recent U.K. studies have suggested that the prevalence of PDD is much higher than previously estimated. This study establishes to which extent the routine checks contributed to the early detection and assessment of cases of PDD. Simultaneously we have evaluated the process involved and estimate the prevalence of PDD in our district. METHODS: Retrospective study design utilising community medical files. Headteachers of sc
