Recovery period of hypersecretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone in patients with congenital hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone.

Abstract

AbstractThe recovery periods of serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were studied in patients with congenital hypothyroidism found on neonatal screening. L‐T4 was administered at 37.8 ± 15.1 days of age (M ± SD), and serum T4, T3, and TSH concentrations were measured. After L‐T4 therapy with 10 µg/kg, the serum TSH levels decreased to below 10 µU/ml in five patients within a week, and in another two patients, within two weeks, and in the total number of 12 patients out of 15 (80%), by one month.These results suggest that the recovery of serum TSH occurs rapidly in hypothyroid infants. Thus, the serum TSH concentration may be a good measurement for assessing the adequacy of thyroid hormone therapy from early infancy in patients with congenital hypothyroidism.