Author(s): V. Ilamaran, R. Rathisharmila, P. Uvaraj, N. Saraswathi
This study was done to find the effectiveness of cord blood thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as a screening tool for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in a rural teaching hospital. A total of 785 healthy term neonates were screened at birth with cord blood TSH. Elevated TSH of > 20mIU/L was noted in 22 neonates (2.8%). Six of these 22 neonates recalled had elevated TSH and low fT4 on retesting. Follow up of these neonates revealed transient CH in 5 of them and permanent CH in one. The incidence of CH in our study was 1:785.