Newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism: improvement in short-term follow-up by audit and monitoring.

Publisher: Biomed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101462768 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1756-0500 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17560500 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Res Notes Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : Biomed Central, 2008.

Congenital Hypothyroidism*/diagnosis ; Neonatal Screening*; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Thyrotropin ; Thyroxine

Objective: Newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) at our hospital during this study was by measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in serum samples. This audit was conducted over a 2 year period, to determine the compliance of reporting of results greater than the screening cutoffs for serum TSH. Gaps of non-compliance were identified, and re-audit was undertaken after the corrective actions were taken.
Results: The critical limit was defined as serum TSH (≥ 20 µIU/ml) following consultation with a pediatric endocrinologist. All results above this limit were reported urgently to physicians. During the audit period, 27,407 tests were performed, 0.7% had a value of ≥ 20 µIU/ml, of those only 62% were reported to the general paediatrician or neonatologist. Reasons for not reporting results included non-availability of contact information, lack of policy awareness by technologists, critical results not highlighted on the computer display, and absence of regular monitoring. Corrective measures were taken, and re-audit was done. During the re-audit period, a total of 22,985 tests was performed, 0.6% had a value of ≥ 20 µIU/ml. Of these, 77% were reported to the general paediatrician or neonatologist. Critical result reporting was improved after the audit, and further enhanced the laboratory service of CH screening.

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Keywords: Congenital hypothyroidism; Critical results; Newborn screening; Thyroid-stimulating hormones

9002-71-5 (Thyrotropin)
Q51BO43MG4 (Thyroxine)

Date Created: 20201215 Date Completed: 20210514 Latest Revision: 20220531

20250114

PMC7734813

10.1186/s13104-020-05400-y

33317608