Which screening is required before discharge for a baby?

Which screening is required before discharge for a baby?

• A. Newborn screening
• B. Hearing screen
• C. Pulse oximetry screening
• D. Vitamin K administration

Answer: (B)

Screening before discharge focuses on catching conditions that, if missed, could affect a newborn’s development or health. Hearing screening is routinely required before discharge because congenital hearing loss isn’t always obvious at birth, and identifying it early allows timely intervention with amplification and language-support services. The test uses either otoacoustic emissions or automated auditory brainstem response and, if results are not pass, leads to a referral for a full audiologic evaluation. Vitamin K administration isn’t a screening at all—it’s a preventive treatment to reduce the risk of bleeding. Newborn metabolic screening is important and is typically done after birth (often within the first 24–72 hours) but isn’t universally mandated to be completed before discharge in every setting. Pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease is also a valuable screening, but the prompt focuses on the screening most commonly required before leaving the hospital, which is the hearing screen.

Screening before discharge focuses on catching conditions that, if missed, could affect a newborn’s development or health. Hearing screening is routinely required before discharge because congenital hearing loss isn’t always obvious at birth, and identifying it early allows timely intervention with amplification and language-support services. The test uses either otoacoustic emissions or automated auditory brainstem response and, if results are not pass, leads to a referral for a full audiologic evaluation.

Vitamin K administration isn’t a screening at all—it’s a preventive treatment to reduce the risk of bleeding. Newborn metabolic screening is important and is typically done after birth (often within the first 24–72 hours) but isn’t universally mandated to be completed before discharge in every setting. Pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease is also a valuable screening, but the prompt focuses on the screening most commonly required before leaving the hospital, which is the hearing screen.