Clinical practice: experience with newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism in the Republic of Macedonia - a multiethnic country.

Abstract

UNLABELLED:

To evaluate the thyroid screening program and to estimate the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) among newborns in the Republic of Macedonia, we measured thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in dried blood spot specimens using the DELFIA fluoroimmunoassay, over a period of 12 years. The TSH cutoff level was 10 mU/L blood. A total of 215,077 newborns were screened (94.76 %). Out of 254 recalled newborns (a recall rate of 0.15 %), 83 newborns with CH were detected, yielding a CH prevalence at screening of 1/2,591 (female to male ratio, 1.86:1). Of the CH cases, 47/107,754 (56.6 %) neonates were Macedonian, 29/70,330 (34.9 %) were Albanian, and 7/15,055 (8.4 %) were Roma. The thyroid gland was undetectable on ultrasound in 43 (51.8 %) newborns with CH, thyroid hypoplasia was confirmed in 8 (9.6 %), while 29 (34.9 %) had a normal thyroid gland. In three newborns (3.6 %), agenesis of one lobe was confirmed. Therapy with levothyroxin was initiated on average 11.7 days after birth.

CONCLUSION:

The national thyroid newborn screening program in Macedonia has been successful and effective, providing timely diagnosis and treatment of children with congenital hypothyroidism.

• Authors: Mirjana Kocova, Violeta Anastasovska, Elena Sukarova-Angelovska, Milica Tanaskoska, Elizabeta Taseva
• Journal: European journal of pediatrics (Eur J Pediatr) Vol. 174 Issue 4 Pg. 443-8 (Apr 2015) ISSN: 1432-1076 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 25192932 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Thyrotropin
• Thyroxine

Topics

• Congenital Hypothyroidism (diagnosis, drug therapy, ethnology)
• Ethnicity
• Female
• Fluoroimmunoassay
• Humans
• Infant, Newborn
• Male
• Neonatal Screening (methods)
• Prevalence
• Republic of North Macedonia (epidemiology)
• Thyrotropin (blood)
• Thyroxine (therapeutic use)