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Does Ventriculoperitoneal Shunting Improve Thyroid Hormone Levels in Hydrocephalic Newborns?
Necati Ucler1, Fatih Serhat Erol, Sait Ozturk
1Department of Neurosurgery, Adiyaman University Education and Research Hospital, Adiyaman, Turkey.
Objective/Aim:
The aim of this report was to investigate the effect of ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for the treatment of hydrocephalus on thyroid hormones in the first 3 months of life.
Methods:
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free T3 (fT3), and free T4 (fT4) levels were compared at 7 days (preoperatively) and at 30 and 90 days (postoperatively) after birth between 25 ventriculoperitoneal shunt-inserted hydrocephalic newborns and 20 healthy newborns.
Results:
The TSH level at 7 days was higher in the hydrocephalic patient group (6.33 µIU) compared to the control group (3.76 µIU). This value was significantly decreased at 90 days in the ventriculoperitoneal shunt-inserted newborns (2.35 µIU) compared to the control group (3.33 µIU; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between time points for fT4 and fT3 values in the patient group or for TSH, fT4, and fT3 values in the control group.
Conclusion:
We propose that a ventriculoperitoneal shunt inserted in the early period of life may have beneficial effects on thyroid hormones.
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