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Thyroxine screening values in premature infants
J Saslow1, E M Post, C A Southard
1Department of Pediatrics, Children's Regional Hospital, Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden, NJ 08103, USA.
Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism : JPEM
|June 27, 1998
Summary
Premature infants often have lower thyroxine levels than full-term infants. These lower thyroxine screening results persist while the premature infants remain ill in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Thyroid Function
Background:
- Premature infants frequently exhibit lower thyroxine levels compared to full-term infants.
- Establishing normal reference ranges for thyroxine screening in premature infants is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine gestational age-specific normal ranges for thyroxine screening in premature infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units.
- To compare thyroxine levels in premature infants to those of full-term infants.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of thyroid screening results from 543 premature infants (<38 weeks gestation) across two NICUs.
- Calculation of thyroxine Z-scores for each sample using full-term infant parameters.
- Computation of mean thyroxine Z-scores stratified by gestational age and days of life (1, 2, 3-7, 8-14, 15-21, 22-28, 29-60).
Main Results:
- A total of 1144 specimens were analyzed.
- The mean thyroxine Z-score was below 0 across most gestational age and days-of-life categories.
- Mean thyroxine Z-score demonstrated an increase with advancing gestational age but not with increasing postpartum age.
Conclusions:
- Normal thyroxine Z-scores for premature infants are significantly lower than those for full-term infants.
- Thyroxine levels in premature infants remain low throughout their illness, indicating a prolonged physiological adaptation or stress response.