PRINTER'S NO. 2754
No. 485 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY DePASQUALE, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, BEYER, BIANCUCCI, BOBACK, BRENNAN, CAUSER, DALEY, FABRIZIO, FRANKEL, GEORGE, GOODMAN, HENNESSEY, HORNAMAN, JAMES, JOSEPHS, KENNEY, KORTZ, KULA, MURT, NAILOR, PALLONE, PARKER, PETRONE, RAMALEY, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SHIMKUS, SIPTROTH, THOMAS AND VEREB, OCTOBER 26, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OCTOBER 26, 2007
A RESOLUTION 1 Urging the Department of Health to require the reporting of 2 cases of hydrocephalus by health care professionals and 3 urging the department to transmit the collected data to the 4 Hydrocephalus Association for its national database project. 5 WHEREAS, The Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 6 provides the Secretary of Health with the authority to request 7 physicians and individuals in charge of any institution for the 8 treatment of diseases to make reports of diseases and conditions 9 to enable the secretary to determine and employ the most 10 efficient and practical means to protect and promote the health 11 of the people through prevention and control; and 12 WHEREAS, The Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955 also 13 calls for the transmission of such reports to the Department of 14 Health or to local boards or departments of health as requested 15 by the secretary; and 16 WHEREAS, The regulations currently provide for the reporting
1 of diseases, infections and conditions, including the reporting 2 of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, galactosemia, maple syrup 3 urine disease, phenylketonuria, primary congenital 4 hypothyroidism and sickle cell disease in newborns; and 5 WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus is either present at birth or is a 6 result of an injury or trauma to the brain; and 7 WHEREAS, The incidence and prevalence of hydrocephalus are 8 difficult to estimate, but it is approximated to affect one or 9 two in every 1,000 children and more than 375,000 older 10 Americans; and 11 WHEREAS, The symptoms of hydrocephalus include progressive 12 mental impairment and dementia, problems with walking and 13 impaired bladder control; and 14 WHEREAS, Hydrocephalus is often misdiagnosed because its 15 symptoms are similar to other disorders, such as Alzheimer's 16 disease, Parkinson's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and 17 WHEREAS, Older Americans affected with hydrocephalus are 18 often never properly treated; and 19 WHEREAS, Currently, there are no accepted statistics on the 20 incidence, treatment protocols or long-term outcomes of 21 hydrocephalus because there is no existing national registry or 22 database of people with hydrocephalus and closely associated 23 disorders; and 24 WHEREAS, It is the goal of the Hydrocephalus Association to 25 create a national registry that will enable the association to 26 collect, store and synthesize information on the diagnosis, 27 treatment and incidence of hydrocephalus, as well as its 28 lifelong impact on individuals; therefore be it 29 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the 30 Department of Health to participate in the effort to create a 20070H0485R2754 - 2 -
1 national registry by requiring the reporting of cases of 2 hydrocephalus by health care practitioners, health care 3 facilities and persons other than health care practitioners and 4 the special reporting of cases of hydrocephalus in newborns; and 5 be it further 6 RESOLVED, That the department transmit the collected data to 7 the Hydrocephalus Association for its national database project; 8 and be it further 9 RESOLVED, That the department begin collecting this data 10 immediately. I20L82BIL/20070H0485R2754 - 3 -