ESPE Abstracts

Background: Infants referred with elevation of capillary TSH on newborn screening are classified as having transient TSH elevation when subsequently found to have normal venous thyroid function tests off treatment with thyroxine. Causes of transient TSH elevation include neonatal sickness, prematurity and maternal thyroid antibodies. There is little information on thyroid size in such infants.Objective: To determine thyroid volume by ultrasound in infant...

Backgrounds: The prevalence of congenital malformations (CM) is higher in infants referred with capillary (c) TSH elevation on newborn screening. However, establishing the prevalence of CM ± dysmorphic syndromes in true congenital hypothyroidism (CH) requires careful distinction between true and transient CH.Objective: To determine the prevalence of CM ± dysmorphic syndromes in all infants referred with TSH elevation on newborn screening in Sco...

Background: Screening for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has virtually eradicated the severe mental handicap associated with late or absent treatment. We have previously reported two audits of newborn screening for CH between 1979 and 2003 showing significant improvement from the first to more recent period.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to audit the period 2004–2013 and report trends in timing of sampling, laboratory processing, delay between f...

Background: Mutations in the human GH receptor gene (GHR) are the most common cause of GH insensitivity (GHI) syndrome and IGF1 deficiency. The extracellular domain of GHR (encoded by exons 2–7 of the GHR gene) can be proteolytically cleaved to circulate as GH-binding protein.Objective: To evaluate the cause of classical GHI (Laron) phenotypes in two siblings and their parents.Method: We observed clinical characteristics of tw...

Background: Otological problems in Turner syndrome (TS) are notoriously common and troublesome, often requiring intervention with adeno-tonsillectomy, insertion of ventilation tubes and occasionally resulting in serious disease such as cholesteatoma.Survey of otological problems in the West of Scotland: A case note review of 174 girls attending the Turner clinic in Glasgow, Scotland from 1989–2015 found that of 155 patients in whom data were availab...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), caused by loss of paternally imprinted genes in the 15q11-13 region, results in hypogonadism which is more severe in males.Objective: To review the gonadal status of patients seen in a dedicated PWS clinic from 1990–2013 inclusive so as to establish the clinical patterns and hence to optimise future management.Method: Retrospective case note review over a 23-year period.<p class="ab...

Background: Girls with Turner syndrome (TS) are inappropriately short for their parents’ heights; measured parental height is therefore useful in diagnosis.Objective and hypotheses: To examine the sensitivity of measured parental height in the diagnosis of TS; and to audit the frequency of parental height measurement in our clinic.Method: Case note review of all girls with TS attending our dedicated Turner clinic between 1989&...

Background: Establishing thyroid size as large, normal or small in newborn infants with TSH elevation and in situ thyroid is important for diagnosis and informing molecular genetic studies.Objective and hypotheses: To compare intra-observer variation in the objective (Ox) measurement of thyroid volume (vol) by ultrasound (US); and the correlation between subjective (Sx) and Ox assessment.Method: Joint blinded retrospective...

Background: The contribution of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and parental height (PH) to childhood short stature is difficult to determine in countries, including the UK, where birth length (BL) is not routinely measured, while accurate PH may become unavailable due to separation/divorce. A previous study (2008–2009) examined the feasibility of BL and PH measurement in the lightest 9% of babies born in a single maternity unit. Uptake was disappointing, with part...

Methods: Patients commenced 0.75mg/kg carbimazole (CBZ) daily with randomisation to either BR or DT. We examined baseline patient characteristics, CBZ dose, time to serum TSH/FT4 normalisation and BMI Z-score. Results: There were data available from 80 patients (baseline) and 78 patients (61 female) at 6 months. Mean CBZ dose was 0.9 mg/kg/day (BR) and 0.5 mg/kg/day (DT). There was no difference in the time taken for...