The role of initial clinical and laboratory findings in infants with hyperthyrotropinemia to predict transient or permanent hypothyroidism.

Abstract

Objective: Studies on the clinical course of children with hyperthyrotropinemia are scarce. We aimed to evaluate the role of presentation findings in such infants to predict eventual outcome. Methods: Files of infants diagnosed as suspicious congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the neonatal or early infancy period in the past ten years were analyzed retrospectively, and 37 patients (M/F: 20/17) with hyperthyrotropinemia diagnosed at a median age of 3.2 months were included in the study. Criteria for inclusion were: normal free thyroxine (fT4) levels and thyrotropin (TSH) levels between 10-20 μIU/mL during the initial neonatal screening (or TSH<10μIU/mL afterwards). Cases with permanent CH (Group 1) were compared to those with transient hyperthyrotropinemia (Group 2) regarding age at the time of diagnosis, sex, gestational age, birth weight, symptoms, ultrasonographic and scintigraphic findings, initial thyroid function tests, and state of mental and motor development.