Effectiveness of Enhanced Developmental Screening at 18 Months to Identify Developmental Delays.

The study used administrative data and could not determine which specific standardized screening tools were used by clinicians. The diagnosis codes for developmental delays were not validated against chart reviews. The study did not include children who attended visits in community health centers or with nurse practitioners. Residual confounding is possible because the groups were not randomly assigned, and factors like provider preference or specific clinic practices may have influenced who received enhanced screening. The study was conducted during the pandemic, which may have affected attendance and access to care.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study used data from ICES, an independent nonprofit research institute, and was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health (implied by the use of OHIP data and provincial context, though specific funding declaration text is not explicitly provided in the snippets beyond the ICES authorization).

Do not interpret the early detection advantage as evidence that enhanced screening leads to better long-term outcomes or more diagnoses overall. The study found no difference in identification rates after six months, suggesting that any 'catch-up' effect is temporary or that routine surveillance eventually identifies the same children.