Levothyroxine replacement in primary congenital hypothyroidism: the higher the initial dose the higher the rate of overtreatment
Abstract
Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the most frequent endocrine disorder during the neonatal period, and a delay in diagnosis and treatment leads to irreversible complications. A high L-thyroxine (LT4) dose is recommended for treatment, while the optimal starting dose is still a matter of debate. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various starting doses of LT4 on serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (fT4) at the end of the first month of treatment.
Methods: A total of 71 patients (37 males, 52.1%) with CH were included in the study. The patients were designated into three sets of subgroups according to the following categorical variables: (i) initial LT4 doses: 6–9.9 μg/kg/day, 10–11.9 μg/kg/day and 12–17 μg/kg/day; (ii) initial TSH levels: 6–9.99 μIU/mL, 10–75 μIU/mL and >75 μIU/mL; and (iii) etiology: dyshormonogenesis and dysgenesis. A fT4 level >2.3 ng/dL±a TSH level <0.5 μIU/mL were considered as overtreatment.
Results: The mean age of the study population was 22.3±13.2 days at diagnosis. At diagnosis, the mean fT4 was 0.84±0.32 ng/dL, and TSH was 39.3±30 μIU/mL. The mean initial dose of LT4 was 10.9±2.9 μg/kg/day. Overtreatment rates were significantly higher in the highest dose group (12–17 μg/kg/day) compared with the lowest dose group (6–9.9 μg/kg/day) (61.5% and 25%, respectively, p<0.05). None of the patients was undertreated.
Conclusions: In this study, we found that the rate of overtreatment was significantly higher in patients who were given LT4 doses of 12–17 μg/kg/day. Thus, monitoring thyroid functions earlier than one month of treatment is necessary.
References
1. Fisher DA. Second International Conference on Neonatal Thyroid Screening: progress report. J Pediatr 1983;102:653–4.10.1016/S0022-3476(83)80228-5Search in Google Scholar
2. Kumorowicz-Czoch M, Madetko-Talowska A, Tylek-Lemanska D, Pietrzyk JJ, Starzyk J. Identification of deletions in children with congenital hypothyroidism and thyroid dysgenesis with the use of multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2015;28:171–6.10.1515/jpem-2014-0040Search in Google Scholar
3. American Academy of P, Rose SR, Section on E, Committee on Genetics AT, Brown RS, et al. Update of newborn screening and therapy for congenital hypothyroidism. Pediatrics 2006;117:2290–303.10.1542/peds.2006-0915Search in Google Scholar
4. Rovet JF, Ehrlich RM, Sorbara DL. Effect of thyroid hormone level on temperament in infants with congenital hypothyroidism detected by screening of neonates. J Pediatr 1989;114:63–8.10.1016/S0022-3476(89)80602-XSearch in Google Scholar
5. Pearce SH, Brabant G, Duntas LH, Monzani F, Peeters RP, et al. 2013 ETA Guideline: management of subclinical hypothyroidism. Eur Thyroid J 2013;2:215–28.10.1159/000356507Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
6. Vaidyanathan P, Pathak M, Kaplowitz PB. In congenital hypothyroidism, an initial L-thyroxine dose of 10–12 mug/kg/day is sufficient and sometimes excessive based on thyroid tests 1 month later. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2012;25:849–52.10.1515/jpem-2012-0025Search in Google Scholar PubMed
7. Bakker B, Kempers MJ, De Vijlder JJ, Van Tijn DA, Wiedijk BM, et al. Dynamics of the plasma concentrations of TSH, FT4 and T3 following thyroxine supplementation in congenital hypothyroidism. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 2002;57:529–37.10.1046/j.1365-2265.2002.01632.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
8. Selva KA, Mandel SH, Rien L, Sesser D, Miyahira R, et al. Initial treatment dose of L-thyroxine in congenital hypothyroidism. J Pediatr 2002;141:786–92.10.1067/mpd.2002.128887Search in Google Scholar PubMed
9. Dubuis JM, Glorieux J, Richer F, Deal CL, Dussault JH, et al. Outcome of severe congenital hypothyroidism: closing the developmental gap with early high dose levothyroxine treatment. J Clin Endocr Metab 1996;81:222–7.Search in Google Scholar
10. Fisher DA, Foley BL. Early treatment of congenital hypothyroidism. Pediatrics 1989;83:785–9.10.1542/peds.83.5.785Search in Google Scholar
11. Bongers-Schokking JJ, Resing WC, de Rijke YB, de Ridder MA, de Muinck Keizer-Schrama SM. Cognitive development in congenital hypothyroidism: is overtreatment a greater threat than undertreatment? J Clin Endocr Metab 2013;98:4499–506.10.1210/jc.2013-2175Search in Google Scholar PubMed
12. Campos SP, Sandberg DE, Barrick C, Voorhess ML, MacGillivray MH. Outcome of lower L-thyroxine dose for treatment of congenital hypothyroidism. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 1995;34:514–20.10.1177/000992289503401001Search in Google Scholar
13. Tillotson SL, Fuggle PW, Smith I, Ades AE, Grant DB. Relation between biochemical severity and intelligence in early treated congenital hypothyroidism: a threshold effect. Br Med J 1994;309:440–5.10.1136/bmj.309.6952.440Search in Google Scholar
14. Salerno M, Militerni R, Bravaccio C, Micillo M, Capalbo D, et al. Effect of different starting doses of levothyroxine on growth and intellectual outcome at four years of age in congenital hypothyroidism. Thyroid 2002;12:45–52.10.1089/105072502753451968Search in Google Scholar
15. Simoneau-Roy J, Marti S, Deal C, Huot C, Robaey P, et al. Cognition and behavior at school entry in children with congenital hypothyroidism treated early with high-dose levothyroxine. J Pediatr 2004;144:747–52.10.1016/j.jpeds.2004.02.021Search in Google Scholar
16. Daneman D, Howard NJ. Neonatal thyrotoxicosis: intellectual impairment and craniosynostosis in later years. J Pediatr 1980;97:257–9.10.1016/S0022-3476(80)80487-2Search in Google Scholar
17. Dimitropoulos A, Molinari L, Etter K, Torresani T, Lang-Muritano M, et al. Children with congenital hypothyroidism: long-term intellectual outcome after early high-dose treatment. Pediatr Res 2009;65:242–8.10.1203/PDR.0b013e31818d2030Search in Google Scholar PubMed
18. Delvecchio M, Faienza MF, Acquafredda A, Zecchino C, Peruzzi S, et al. Longitudinal assessment of levo-thyroxine therapy for congenital hypothyroidism: relationship with aetiology, bone maturation and biochemical features. Horm Res 2007;68:105–12.10.1159/000100373Search in Google Scholar PubMed
19. Kempers MJ, van Trotsenburg AS, van Tijn DA, Bakker E, Wiedijk BM, et al. Disturbance of the fetal thyroid hormone state has long-term consequences for treatment of thyroidal and central congenital hypothyroidism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2005;90:4094–100.10.1210/jc.2005-0197Search in Google Scholar PubMed
20. Jones JH, Gellen B, Paterson WF, Beaton S, Donaldson MD. Effect of high versus low initial doses of L-thyroxine for congenital hypothyroidism on thyroid function and somatic growth. Arch Dis Child 2008;93:940–4.10.1136/adc.2007.120618Search in Google Scholar PubMed
21. Heyerdahl S, Kase BF. Significance of elevated serum thyrotropin during treatment of congenital hypothyroidism. Acta Paediatr 1995;84:634–8.10.1111/j.1651-2227.1995.tb13716.xSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
©2016 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- REVIEW
- Obesity-associated sympathetic overactivity in children and adolescents: the role of catecholamine resistance in lipid metabolism
- MINI REVIEW
- Idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia: case report and review of the literature
- ORIGINAL ARTICLES
- Levothyroxine replacement in primary congenital hypothyroidism: the higher the initial dose the higher the rate of overtreatment
- Effect of auditory guided imagery on glucose levels and on glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus
- Kidney injury molecule-1 and neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin in normoalbuminuric diabetic children
- Use of the triglyceride to HDL cholesterol ratio for assessing insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese children in rural Appalachia
- Carotid intima media thickness in obese children: is there an association with hyperlipidemia?
- Schoolchildren born VLBW or VLGA show height-related changes in body composition and muscle function but no evidence of metabolic syndrome risk factors. Results from the NEOLONG study
- Topical dihydrotestosterone to treat micropenis secondary to partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) before, during, and after puberty – a case series
- Urinary myo-inositol levels in Japanese schoolchildren with normal glucose tolerance
- Barriers in communication and available resources to facilitate conversation about infertility with girls diagnosed with Turner syndrome
- Analysis of the PAX8 gene in 32 children with thyroid dysgenesis and functional characterization of a promoter variant
- Decrease of small dense LDL and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 due to human growth hormone treatment in short children with growth hormone deficiency and small for gestational age status
- Rare and curable renin-mediated hypertension: a series of six cases and a literature review
- CASE REPORTS
- Vulvar fetal rhabdomyoma mimicking 46XX sex differentiation disorder
- Simultaneous occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis, thyroid storm, and multiple cerebral infarctions due to Moyamoya disease
- Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome: two siblings with a new mutation and dramatic therapeutic effect of high-dose riboflavin
- Lipomatous nevus and urethral caruncle mistaken for ambiguous genitalia in a female infant
- Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma in an 11-year-old boy with type 1 autoimmune polyglandular syndrome
- Changes in facial appearance from neonate to adult in 3-M syndrome patient with novel CUL7 gene mutations
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- REVIEW
- Obesity-associated sympathetic overactivity in children and adolescents: the role of catecholamine resistance in lipid metabolism
- MINI REVIEW
- Idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia: case report and review of the literature
- ORIGINAL ARTICLES
- Levothyroxine replacement in primary congenital hypothyroidism: the higher the initial dose the higher the rate of overtreatment
- Effect of auditory guided imagery on glucose levels and on glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus
- Kidney injury molecule-1 and neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin in normoalbuminuric diabetic children
- Use of the triglyceride to HDL cholesterol ratio for assessing insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese children in rural Appalachia
- Carotid intima media thickness in obese children: is there an association with hyperlipidemia?
- Schoolchildren born VLBW or VLGA show height-related changes in body composition and muscle function but no evidence of metabolic syndrome risk factors. Results from the NEOLONG study
- Topical dihydrotestosterone to treat micropenis secondary to partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) before, during, and after puberty – a case series
- Urinary myo-inositol levels in Japanese schoolchildren with normal glucose tolerance
- Barriers in communication and available resources to facilitate conversation about infertility with girls diagnosed with Turner syndrome
- Analysis of the PAX8 gene in 32 children with thyroid dysgenesis and functional characterization of a promoter variant
- Decrease of small dense LDL and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 due to human growth hormone treatment in short children with growth hormone deficiency and small for gestational age status
- Rare and curable renin-mediated hypertension: a series of six cases and a literature review
- CASE REPORTS
- Vulvar fetal rhabdomyoma mimicking 46XX sex differentiation disorder
- Simultaneous occurrence of diabetic ketoacidosis, thyroid storm, and multiple cerebral infarctions due to Moyamoya disease
- Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere syndrome: two siblings with a new mutation and dramatic therapeutic effect of high-dose riboflavin
- Lipomatous nevus and urethral caruncle mistaken for ambiguous genitalia in a female infant
- Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma in an 11-year-old boy with type 1 autoimmune polyglandular syndrome
- Changes in facial appearance from neonate to adult in 3-M syndrome patient with novel CUL7 gene mutations