Neonatal screening: 9% of children with filter paper thyroid‐stimulating hormone levels between 5 and 10 μIU/mL have congenital hypothyroidism

• Main Authors: Flávia C. Christensen‐Adad (Author), Carolina T. Mendes‐dos‐Santos (Author), Maura M.F. Goto (Author), Letícia E. Sewaybricker (Author), Lília F.R. D'Souza‐Li (Author), Gil Guerra‐Junior (Author), André M. Morcillo (Author), Sofia Helena V. Lemos‐Marini (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, 2017-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in children with filter paper TSH levels (f‐TSH) between 5 and 10 μUI/mL in the neonatal screening. Methods: This was a retrospective study including children screened from 2003 to 2010, with f‐TSH between 5 and 10 μIU/mL, who were followed‐up during the first two years of life when there was no serum TSH normalization. The diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism was defined as serum TSH ≥10 μIU/mL and start of levothyroxine treatment up to 2 years of age. Results: Of the 380,741 live births, 3,713 (1.04%) had f‐TSH between 5 and 10 μIU /mL and, of these, 339 (9.13%) had congenital hypothyroidism. Of these, 76.11% of the cases were diagnosed in the first three months of life and 7.96% between 1 and 2 years of age. Conclusion: The study showed that 9.13% of the children with f‐TSH between 5 and 10 μIU/mL developed hypothyroidism and that in approximately one‐quarter of them, the diagnosis was confirmed only after the third month of life. Based on these findings, the authors suggest the use of a 5 μIU/mL cutoff for f‐TSH and long‐term follow‐up of infants whose serum TSH has not normalized to rule out congenital hypothyroidism.

Item Description

2255-5536
10.1016/j.jpedp.2017.08.001