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National survey on concepts for congenital hypothyroidism screening in neonatal intensive care units in Japan
Author(s) -
Uchiyama Atsushi,
Sugihara Sigetaka,
Kusuda Satoshi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.13037
Subject(s) - medicine , congenital hypothyroidism , pediatrics , intensive care , thyroid function , newborn screening , tertiary care , thyroid stimulating hormone , thyroid function tests , thyroid , intensive care medicine , emergency medicine , endocrinology
Abstract Background Recently, a revised version of the Guidelines for Mass Screening of Congenital Hypothyroidism ( CH ) was published in Japan, but it is not known whether the guidelines are used routinely in neonatal intensive care units ( NICU ). Methods To clarify the current status and issues of newborn screening ( NBS ) for CH in Japanese NICU , we sent a questionnaire by mail or email to neonatologists responsible for 100 tertiary NICU in Japan, and analyzed their responses. Results The response rate was 92% (92/100). Among respondents, 65% (59/91) performed thyroid function testing separately from NBS for CH . Within this group, 63% (37/59) applied criteria, mostly for very low‐birthweight ( VLBW ) infants (25/37). Only 29% of respondents (26/90), however, used criteria to select VLBW infants for treatment. Furthermore, criteria differed in each NICU . Fifty‐seven percent of respondents (50/87) reported issues regarding NBS for CH in NICU , which fell into three main areas: establishment of a clear method for the management of VLBW infants; necessity of simultaneous measurement of thyroid‐stimulating hormone and free thyroxine; and overlapping blood collection for NBS and thyroid function tests. Conclusions Two‐thirds of tertiary NICU performed thyroid function testing separately from NBS for CH . Approximately 60% of neonatologists responded that current NBS for CH had ongoing issues. Further research is needed to establish the optimal NBS protocol for CH in NICU in Japan.