Perceptions of the CF Screening Protocol Incorporating NGS

NCT ID: NCT06299566

Last Updated: 2024-03-08

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 150 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-01-19
• Study Completion Date: 2023-02-28

Brief Summary

Newborn bloodspot screening (from now on referred to as screening) for cystic fibrosis (CF) became part of the national screening programme in 2007. Screening for CF is also well established internationally. The current process works well but has some disadvantages: carrier reporting - which is not the intention of CF screening in the UK (~200 pa); need for repeat samples which can be costly and contribute to parental worry (~300 pa.); mutation panels not fully reflecting the ethnic diversity of the birth population; identification of children designated as CF screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis (CFSPID) which can cause uncertainty (~20-30 pa).

A trial of NGS in one centre in the UK, for one year found that it was technically feasible at reasonable cost and with an acceptable turn around time. In addition, the trial determined that using NGS could mitigate against some of the disadvantages described above.

The purpose of this piece of work was to:

1. Gather, compare and analyse the views of a range of stakeholders on the proposed CF screening protocol incorporating NGS.

2. Use the outcomes to inform discussions and decisions by the fetal, maternal and child health (FMCH) group and UK National Screening Committee (NSC) about the proposed protocol

3. Consider what generalisable information on the views of stakeholders on newborn screening could be generated from this exercise to inform other FMCH and UK NSC discussions

4. Evaluate and learn from the exercise to inform future stakeholder engagement activities by the UK NSC and screening programmes.

Conditions

Cystic Fibrosis

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: OTHER
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

People with experience of cystic fibrosis

Adults or children with experience of CF.

No interventions assigned to this group

Health professionals

Health professionals with experience of caring for people with experience of CF.

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. Adults aged over 18 years of age who:

(i) Were diagnosed with CF in childhood (ii) Were diagnosed with CF as adults (including those who would have been identified as CFSPID if NBS had been available and reporting it) (iii) Are carriers of CF (including parents/relatives of children/adults with CF and adults identified via other routes e.g. private testing)

2. Parents (aged over 18 years) of children identified through NBS who:

(iv) Have CF (v) Are carriers of CF (vi) Have a CFSPID designation (vii) Have received a false positive NBS result for CF (viii) Have received a false negative NBS result for CF

3. Children aged over 10 years of age* who:

(ix) Have CF (x) Have a CFSPID designation (xi) Are carriers of CF and have been informed of their carrier status

*Ten years of age has been chosen for both pragmatic reasons and because this represents the age at which children will begin preparing for transition to adult services and therefore a period of increased independence and/or preparing for specialist review

4. Professionals involved in processing and/or communicating positive NBS results for CF to families or supporting families in health, community or education settings e.g. doctors, nurses, geneticists, genetic counsellors, midwives, social workers, dieticians, physiotherapists, teachers, university lecturers, charities.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Adults or children with non CF related co-morbidities that are likely to influence their perception of the proposed CF screening protocol incorporating NGS

2. Parents whose child has died prior to being approached to be involved in the study

3. Adults or children unable to understand the PIS and give informed consent/assent respectively

4. Adults or children whose recruitment is contraindicated on psychosocial or medical grounds (identified by their health visitor or specialist team).

Those not involved in processing, communicating positive NBS results for CF to families or supporting families in health, community or education settings.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 99 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University of Warwick

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Coventry University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Barts & The London NHS Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Cystic Fibrosis Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

King's College London

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

King's College London

London, , United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

References

Moody L, Clarke S, Compton M, Hughson-Gill R, Boardman F, Clark C, Holder P, Bonham JR, Chudleigh J. Development of an Online Scenario-Based Tool to Enable Research Participation and Public Engagement in Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening: Mixed Methods Study. J Particip Med. 2025 Mar 6;17:e59686. doi: 10.2196/59686.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40053726 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

CF NGS

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id