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[Pediatric reference intervals : retrospective study on thyroid hormone levels]
A Ladang1, L Vranken1, F Luyckx2
1Département de Chimie clinique, Biologie clinique, CHU de Liège, Site Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgique.
Insights
This study establishes new pediatric reference ranges for thyroid hormones (TSH, FT3, FT4) using the Cobas C6000 analyzer. These ranges are crucial for accurate thyroid disorder diagnosis in children aged 0-18.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Clinical Chemistry
- Pediatric Diagnostics
Context:
- Establishing accurate reference ranges for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) is vital for pediatric diagnostics.
- Previous studies have noted age and sex influences on thyroid hormone levels, necessitating specific pediatric ranges.
- The Cobas C6000 analyzer is widely used, making analyzer-specific reference ranges essential for consistent clinical application.
Purpose:
- To define new, age-specific pediatric reference ranges for TSH, FT3, and FT4 specifically for the Cobas C6000 analyzer.
- To account for significant thyroid hormone fluctuations in infants and stabilization around age three.
- To compare the derived pediatric reference ranges with those from a large-scale Canadian study (CALIPER initiative).
Summary:
- This study determined new pediatric reference ranges for TSH, FT3, and FT4 in outpatients aged 0 to 18 years using the Cobas C6000 analyzer.
- Thyroid hormone levels were analyzed considering dramatic changes in the first year of life and stabilization around age three.
- The results were benchmarked against data from the CALIPER initiative, a large Canadian prospective study.
Impact:
- Provides essential, updated reference ranges for TSH, FT3, and FT4 tailored for the Cobas C6000 in pediatric populations.
- Aids clinicians in the accurate diagnosis and monitoring of thyroid conditions in children and adolescents.
- Facilitates improved standardization of thyroid function testing across different laboratories and geographic regions.
Abstract:
Defining reference range is an essential tool for diagnostic. Age and sexe influences on thyroid hormone levels have been already discussed. In this study, we are defining a new pediatric reference range for TSH, FT3 and FT4 for Cobas C6000 analyzer. To do so, we have taken in account 0 to 18 year old outclinic patients. During the first year of life, thyroid hormone levels change dramatically before getting stabilized around 3 years old. We also compared our results to those obtained in a Canadian large-scale prospective study (the CALIPER initiative).