Does test fulfil screening criteria?

EDITOR—Mushtaq et al report their evaluation of a potential screening test for conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in infants.1 Were this test to be considered in the implementation of a screening programme, however, several other issues would need to be considered along with the test itself.

The criteria of Wilson and Jungner,2 which have recently been updated and adopted by the national screening committee, are seen by many as the gold standard of screening assessment.3 Mushtaq et al do not overtly state the hypothesis that they are testing. They simply say that they wished to evaluate tandem mass spectrometry for the detection of conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia in neonates. Application of the Wilson and Jungner screening criteria before the study began would have highlighted any potential difficulties in a future screening programme regardless …