ESPE Abstracts

Recently there has been studies which reported that SGA could be a risk factor for the development of delayed TSH elevation (dTSH) in preterm infant. To our knowledge, very few studies have addressed development of dTSH in SGA infants whose gestational age > 34. We included 76 SGA infants and 83 controls matched on sex and birth weight who showed normal results on the initial thyroid function screening test. On the following test for thyroid function, dTSH prevalence was significantly higher in SGA infants (15.8% vs 4.9%, P=0.023) and LT4 treatment was introduced more frequently in SGA infants (7.9% vs 0%, P=0.012), although known risk factor including lower gestational age, medical condition requiring ICU treatment were more prevalent in AGA infants. In SGA infants, mean age at the time of diagnosis of dTSH was 16 days and peak TSH concentration was noted at the age of 24 days. After multiple regression analysis, presence of VLBW, and exposure to steroid, SGA was still significant risk factor for the development of dTSH (OR = 7.451, 95% CI 1.61-34.5, P=0.01)