The Timely Needs for Infantile Onset Pompe Disease Newborn Screening—Practice in Taiwan

Abstract

Pompe disease Newborn screening (NBS) aims at diagnosing patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) early enough so a timely treatment can be instituted. Since 2015, the National Taiwan University NBS Center has changed the method for Pompe disease NBS from fluorometric assay to tandem mass assay. From 2016 to 2019, 14 newborns were reported as high-risk for Pompe disease at a median age of 9 days (range 6–13), and 18 were with a borderline risk at a median age of 13 days (9–28). None of the borderline risks were IOPD patients. Among the 14 at a high-risk of Pompe disease, four were found to have cardiomyopathy, and six were classified as potential late-onset Pompe disease. The four classic IOPD newborns, three of the four having at least one allele of the cross-reactive immunologic material (CRIM)-positive variant, started enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) at a median age of 9 days (8–14). Western Blot analysis and whole gene sequencing confirmed the CRIM-positive status in all cases. Here, we focus on the patient without the known CRIM-positive variant. Doing ERT before knowing the CRIM status created a dilemma in the decision and was discussed in detail. Our Pompe disease screening and diagnostic program successfully detected and treated patients with IOPD in time. However, the timely exclusion of a CRIM-negative status, which is rare in the Chinese population, is still a challenging task.