ESPE2023 Poster Category 1 Thyroid (44 abstracts)
1Sala de Endocrinología infantil, Hospital Sor María Ludovica, La Plata, Argentina. 2Instituto de Desarrollo e Investigaciones Pediátricas, MinSal/CICPBA, La Plata, Argentina. 3Centro de Matemática La Plata, Fac. Ciencias Exactas-UNLP/CICPBA, La Plata, Argentina. 4Laboratorio Central, Sector Endocrinología, Hospital Sor María Ludovica, La Plata, Argentina. 5Detección de Errores Congénitos, Fundación Bioquímica Argentina, La Plata, Argentina
Mandatory lockdown during COVID 19 pandemic obstaculized access to medical attention. Newborn screening (NBS) for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in Buenos Aires province has been obligatory since 1995 and performed sustainedly. CH causes mental delay if not diagnosed and treated early.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine if mandatory lockdown changed time of established NBS diagnosis steps.
Material and method: Retrospective data were collected from clinical records of patients referred to NBS confirmation to our hospital. We analyzed variables during periods: prepandemic (P1) March 1, 2018- March 18, 2020, and pandemic (P2) March 19, 2020 - December 31, 2021. We compared sex ratio, confirmed cases(CC), time of sample collection (TSC), transit time (TT), time of analysis (TA), NB age at time of screening results (AR), NB age at time of arrival (AHA), time between results and hospital arrival (TRC), and NB age at start of treatment (ATS). Statistical analyses were performed using software R 4.2.2 version. For qualitative and quantitative data Fisher exact and Mann- Whitney tests were used to evaluate differences between periods.
Results:
P1:(n=213) | P2:(n=159) | P value | |
Sex distribution | F:126(59.2%), M:87(40.8%) | F:106(67.9%), M:50(32.1%) | |
Sex ratio | 1.44 | 2.12 | 0.102 |
CC | 167 (79.1%) | 122(80.8%) | 0.446 |
TSC | 2.0 (2.0, 3.0) | 2.0 (2.0,5.0) | 0.272 |
TT | 5.0 (2.0, 7.0) | 5.0 (3.0, 7.0) | 0.486 |
TA | 2.0 (2.0, 2.0) | 2.0(2.0, 4.0) | <0.001 |
AR | 10.0 (7.0, 14.0) | 10.5 (8.0, 14.0) | 0.264 |
AHA | 15.0(11.0, 23.0) | 15.0(12.0, 22.0) | 0.815 |
TRC | 4.0(2.0, 9.0) | 4.0(2.0, 7.0) | 0.914 |
ATS | 16.0 (11.0, 25.0) | 16.0 (13.0, 25.2) | 0.210 |
Conclusions: Percentage of confirmed cases was similar for both periods. Age at start of treatment did not show differences between periods, and was similar to historical NBS records. Even though time of sample processing (TA) showed differences between periods, it did not affect time of results, hospital arrival or diagnosis. Despite lockdown, diagnosis was carried out normally, allowing early start of treatment.