ArticleBMC primary care2025
A proposed algorithm for early autism screening in Polish primary care settings - a pilot study.
Article in BMC primary care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe rising rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence worldwide demands new screening algorithms to make the process of diagnosis more effective. General practitioners and pediatricians are well-positioned to screen all children aged 16 to 30 months during regular check-ups. In the research, the original algorithm for early autism screening in Polish primary care settings was proposed and tested.
methodsBased on the literature review, the original algorithm of early autism screening employing observational tool was developed and tested. Personal data and M-CHAT-R/F were collected online. In the second phase, chosen patients participated in the Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers and Young Children (STAT). Children who scored positive were referred for the comprehensive ASD evaluation. Normal distribution was analyzed with the use of the Shapiro-Wilk test. Chosen variables were compared using the U-Mann Whitney (nonparametric data) or Student's t-test (parametric data). The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated to analyze the strength of association between selected continuous variables. The threshold of the two-sided statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
resultsOf 187 parents invited to the project, 159 filled the form in the first phase. According to the protocol, 29 children were chosen for the second stage. 10 children scored positive in the STAT session and were referred for comprehensive evaluation. 5 children out of the seven who attended the evaluation received a final diagnosis of ASD. Parental concerns were found the strongest predictor of M-CHAT-R/F results. Fear of having a child with ASD diagnosis was the most common reason for withdrawal from further steps of the protocol.
conclusionsThe proposed algorithm for early developmental screening in the Polish primary care settings is a promising pathway with the potential to be implemented in clinical practice. It contributes to the early detection of developmental difficulties and therefore results in positive therapeutic outcomes. Further research is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.