The FAS Screen: a rapid screening tool for fetal alcohol syndrome

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is an important cause of mental retardation an d developmental disabilities. A population based screening tool would allow for early diagnosis and entry into intervention programs. The aim of the s tudy was to develop a brief screening tool for use in population-based sett ings to improve the identification of children with FAS. The FAS Screen was developed and tested in six sites. These were sites that served children a nd all were located in North Dakota. Screening was completed on 1013 childr en, 65 were found to have a positive screening score and were referred for further investigation. Forty were seen for evaluation by a medical genetici st and six were diagnosed with FAS. The estimated values for the screening tool were: specificity 94.1%, sensitivity 100%, positive predictive value 9 .1% and negative predictive value 100%. The cost of screening was $13.00 pe r child and the cost per case identified was $4,100. The FAS Screen is a br ief screening test with acceptable performance characteristics and is cost effective.