Bangladesh endocrine society guidelines for the diagnosis and management of thyroid disease during pregnancy and the postpartum

Abstract

Background: In Bangladesh, patients with thyroid disorders are managed in accordance with the recognized guidelines and based on expert experience, as comprehensive national guidelines are currently lacking. The Bangladesh Endocrine Society (BES), as a professional body, has been working to develop guidelines for the last couple of years. Most recently, BES formulated practical recommendations for the management of thyroid disorders during pregnancy, which will be termed the “Guideline on Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy in Bangladesh 2022,” Methods: The BES formed a task force comprising experts in this field to formulate the practical recommendations for the management of thyroid disorders during pregnancy under several sections. The members of this task force comprehensively reviewed the available evidence for the specific conditions. Three well-known databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus) were searched to determine the evidence. The task force members were well trained on reviewing the documents and methods of evidence synthesis. Each section of the recommendation was drafted by one member and subsequently reviewed. There was no barrier to the date or type of article published in the aforementioned databases except for articles published other than English. Due to the scarcity of intervention studies, ideas and findings of observational studies, case studies and expert recommendations were considered during the formulation of the guidelines. All members and affiliated persons declared no competing interest, and it was managed and communicated by the President of the BES. Results: The current guidelines for the management of thyroid disease in pregnancy include recommendations about the screening of thyroid function in pregnancy, planning pregnancy in women with thyroid disorders, interpretation of thyroid function tests, management of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in pregnancy, management of thyroid nodules and thyroid emergencies throughout pregnancy, postpartum care, and directions of future research. Conclusions: Our utmost efforts were centered on developing evidence-based recommendations to inform all the levels of clinicians of Bangladesh for the easy understanding and decision-making processes in the management of thyroid disorders in pregnancy and afterward. While we care most to prepare the guideline, all recommendations are the opinion of society and admit the scope of making individualized decisions for the optimal care of patients.