Congenital hypothyroidism.
Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most common preventable causes of mental retardation with a worldwide incidence of 1:4000 live births. Ideally universal screening at 3-4 days of age should be done for detecting CH. Abnormal values on screening (T4 < 6.5 ug/dL, TSH > 20 micro/L) should be confirmed by a venous sample (using age appropriate cutoffs) before initiating treatment. Term as well as preterm infants with low T4 and elevated TSH should be started on L-thyroxine at a dose of 10-15 microg/ kg/ day as soon as the diagnosis is made. Regular monitoring should be done to ensure that T4 is in the upper half of normal range. The outcome of CH depends on the time of initiation of therapy and the dose of L-thyroxine used with the best outcome in infants started on treatment before 2 weeks of age with a dose > 9.5 microg/ kg/ day.
Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India.
Vandana
V
Jain
Ramesh
R
Agarwal
Ashok K
AK
Deorari
Vinod K
VK
Paul
D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D013974:Thyroxine