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
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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.
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