Early identification of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) is
important for providing services and preventing secondary disabilities. Recent
studies indicate that many FASDs are undiagnosed, partly because there is a need
to improve detection of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The aims of this review
are to characterize existing practices for assessing PAE in pediatric care,
identify the most efficient, promising methods of detecting PAE, and recognize
the knowledge and practice gaps. This review indicates that maternal
self-reports remain the most common method utilized in routine clinical practice
and highlights promising methods of PAE identification, including a single binge
drinking question. The review yields few studies describing existing strategies
to assess PAE in pediatric practice and identifies knowledge gaps that need to
be addressed for improving recognition of FASDs in pediatric practice.
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