Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Treatment of Transient Hypothyroxinemia of Prematurity: A Survey of Neonatal Practice

Journal of Perinatology volume 22, pages 563–565 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

We mailed a survey on treatment practices for transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity (THOP) to 100 randomly selected neonatologists. In the year before the survey, 13 of 62 respondents (21.0%) had treated an average of 4.5 THOP patients with thyroid hormone, and 3 had treated 10 or more patients. Randomized trials assessing the value of thyroid supplementation in THOP are urgently needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The seven survey questions.

    1. 1

      Do you ever treat premature infants with transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity with any type of thyroid hormone?

    2. 2

      In the past 12 months, how many premature infants have you treated for transient hypothyroxinemia?

    3. 3

      Do you treat infants with transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity with T4 only?

    4. 4

      Have you ever used T3 in treating infants with transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity?

    5. 5

      At what age have you generally initiated treatment for infants with transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity?

    6. 6

      At what level of serum total thyroxine would you consider treatment of transient hypothyroxinemia of prematurity necessary, assuming no elevation of TSH?

    7. 7

      Have you ever consulted a pediatric endocrinologist for advice in management of premature infants with transient hypothyroxinemia?

References

  1. Reuss ML, Leviton A, Paneth N, Susser M . Thyroxine values from newborn screening of 919 infants born before 29 weeks' gestation Am J Public Health 1997 87: 10 1693–7 also NEJM letter

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Reuss ML, Paneth N, Pinto-Martin JA, Lorenz JM, Susser M . The relation of transient hypothyroxinemia in preterm infants to neurologic development at two years of age N Engl J Med 1996 334: 821–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. den Ouden AL, Kok JH, Verkerk PH, Brand R, Verloove-Vanhorick SP . The relation between neonatal thyroxine levels and neurodevelopmental outcome at age 5 and 9 years in a national cohort of very preterm and/or very low birthweight infants Pediatr Res 1996 39: 142–5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lucas A, Rennie J, Baker BA, Morley R . Low plasma triiodothyronine concentrations and outcome in preterm infants Arch Dis Child 1988 63: 1201–6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lucas A, Morley R, Fewtrell MS . Low triiodothyronine concentration in preterm infants and subsequent intelligence quotient (IQ) at 8 year follow up BMJ 1996 312: 1132–3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rapaport R, Rose SR, Freemark M . Hypothyroxinemia in the preterm infant: the benefits and risks of thyroxine treatment J Pediatr 2001 139: 2 182–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. United States Neonatologists and Perinatologists Directory. Section on Perinatal Pediatrics — AAP — CD 1998

  8. Schonberger W, Grimm W, Emmrich P et al. Reduction in mortality rate in premature infants by substitution of thyroid hormones Eur J Pediatr 1981 135: 245–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Chowdry P, Scanlon JW, Auerbach R, Abassi V . Results of a controlled double-blind study of thyroid replacement in very-low-birth-weight premature infants with hypothyroxinemia Pediatrics 1984 73: 301–5

    Google Scholar 

  10. Vanhole C, Aerssens P, Naulaers G et al. L-Thyroxine treatment of preterm newborns: clinical and endocrine effects Pediatr Res 1997 42: 87–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Van Wassenaer AG, Kok JH, Endert E et al. Effects of thyroxine supplementation on neurological development in infants born at less than 30 weeks gestation N Engl J Med 1997 336: 21–6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Osborn DA . Thyroid hormones for preventing neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2001 4 CD001070

  13. Amato M, Pasquier S, Carasso A, van Muralt G . Postnatal thyroxine administration for idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants Horm Res 1988 29: 27–30

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Amato M, Guggisberg C, Schneider H . Postnatal triiodothyronine replacement and respiratory distress syndrome of the preterm infant Horm Res 1989 32: 213–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Wen-Jiang Fu PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, designed and executed the sampling procedure. Lora McAdams and Jian-Ping He, MD, MS, assisted in data entry, management, and analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, The Regional Neonatal Center, Westchester Medical Center, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

    Sergio G Golombek MD, FAAP & Edmund F LaGamma MD

  2. Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics and Human Development, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Nigel Paneth MD, MPH

Authors
  1. Sergio G Golombek MD, FAAP
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edmund F LaGamma MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nigel Paneth MD, MPH
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Presented in part at the ESPR meeting, Greenwich, CT, March 2002 and at the APS/SPR meeting, Baltimore, May 2002.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Golombek, S., LaGamma, E. & Paneth, N. Treatment of Transient Hypothyroxinemia of Prematurity: A Survey of Neonatal Practice. J Perinatol 22, 563–565 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210791

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210791

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links