title: Congenital anomalies of kidney and upper urinary tract in children with congenital hypothyroidism; a case-control study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) may be significantly associated with congenital malformations. However, there is little evidence on the relationship between renal and urinary tract anomalies and CH.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to compare the renal and upper urinary tract anomalies in children with and without primary CH (PCH).
  
  
  METHODS
  This case-control study was conducted on 200 children aged 3 months to 1 year, referring to Amir-Kabir hospital, Arak, Iran. One hundred children with PCH, as the case group, and 100 children without CH, as the control group, were selected. For all children, ultrasonography and other diagnostic measures (if necessary) were performed to evaluate renal and upper urinary tract anomalies (ureter and bladder).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The frequency of renal and upper urinary tract anomalies among 43 children with primary CH, with 83 cases (72.8%), was significantly higher than the frequency of anomalies among the 19 children in the control group, with 31 cases (27.1%) (OR = 3; CI 95%: 1.6-5.4; P = 0.001). Among the anomalies studied, only the differences in frequency of uretero-pelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) (OR = 6; CI 95%: 1.3-28; P = 0.018) and hydronephrosis (OR = 22; CI 95%: 5-95; P = 0.001) was significant between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated that PCH is significantly associated with the frequency of congenital anomalies of the kidneys and upper urinary tracts. However, further studies are recommended to determine the necessity of conducting screening programs for anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract in children with CH at birth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Parsa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yousefichaijan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dorreh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafeie
authors.affiliation: Students Research Committee, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharafkhah
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Safi
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebrahimimonfared
keywords: Congenital abnormalities; Congenital hypothyroidism; Kidney; Urinary tract