| Abstract | OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of the use of umbilical cord blood for screening of primary congenital hypothyroidism in the Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization newborn thyroid screening programme. METHODS: Umbilical cord blood total thyroxin (CB-TT4) was measured. In samples with low T4 concentrations, an additional measurement of cord blood thyroid-stimulating hormone was made. RESULTS: A total of 96,015 newborn infants were screened in the period January 1990-December 2007. Twenty-six cases of primary congenital hypothyroidism, six cases of transient hypothyroidism and 13 cases of central hypothyroidism were detected. This method of screening resulted in 100% sensitivity and 98% specificity (95% CI 84-100, and 95% CI 98-98.2, respectively). However, there was a high mean recall rate of 1.9%. CONCLUSION: The use of CB-TT4 is a valid screening strategy for primary congenital hypothyroidism. It meets the metabolic screening demands of early discharge policy and guarantees screening all newborns delivered in the hospital. |
| Authors | M Abduljabbar, A Al Shahri, A Afifi
(Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. mohammad.abduljabbar.1 at aramco.com)
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| Journal | Journal of medical screening
(J Med Screen)
Vol. 16
Issue 3
Pg. 119-23
( 2009)
ISSN: 1475-5793 [Electronic] England |
| PMID | 19805752
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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