Multiphasic Screening in Washington, D.C., 1968 and 1969 Results

Two full-time screening units, one a neighborhood health center and the other a mobile trailer, were used in the District of Columbia's 1968 and 1969 multiphasic screening program. The tests offered were height, weight, visual acuity, audiometry, blood pressure, six-lead electrocardiogram, tonometry, chest photofluorogram, serology, blood glucose, hemoglobin, blood urea nitrogen, cervical cytology, and cervical culture for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. A total of 20,945 persons were screened; 51.8 percent were referred for further medical evaluation. Nonwhites had a higher rate of referral than whites. The significant rates of referral were blood pressure, 12.1 percent; electrocardiogram, 13.6 percent; tonometry, 8.3 percent; hemoglobin, 8.0 percent; blood sugar, 7.7 percent; serology, 5.1 percent; and chest X-ray, 16.5 percent. Confirmation by a physician of abnormal referred tests were as follows: blood pressure, 84.0 percent; electrocardiogram, 68.3 percent; tonometry, 20.7 percent; hemoglobin, 54.7 percent; blood sugar, 50.2 percent; serology, 84.5 percent; and chest X-ray, 44.8 percent. Most of these confirmed abnormalities were newly discovered. The following number of final diagnoses were made: diabetes 746, anemia 740, glaucoma 198, hypertensive disease 1,850, diseases of the heart 1,462, other diseases of the circulatory system 1,090, tuberculosis 16, and other respiratory diseases 833. Two-thirds of these diseases were newly diagnosed. To succeed, multiphasic screening must include complete followup, be an integral part of the health care system, and be flexible enough to allow the services to be provided where the needs arise.