Infant Stool Color Card Screening Helps Reduce the Hospitalization Rate and Mortality of Biliary Atresia: A 14-Year Nationwide Cohort Study in Taiwan.

ABSTRACT: Biliary atresia (BA) is a significant liver disease in children. Since 2004, Taiwan has implemented a national screening program that uses an infant stool color card (SCC) for the early detection of BA. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of BA cases before and after the launch of this screening program. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the rates of hospitalization, liver transplantation (LT), and mortality of BA cases before and after the program, and to examine the association between the hospitalization rate and survival outcomes.This was a population-based cohort study. BA cases born during 1997 to 2010 were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Sex, birth date, hospitalization date, LT, and death data were collected and

SUBMITTER: Lee M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4998398 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature