ESPE Abstracts

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a heterogeneous disorder. While the great majority of cases are considered sporadic, the use of next generation sequencing (NGS) may bring significant advances in elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms.Case presentation: We selected a family with three children affected by CH with gland in situ and diagnosed at neonatal screening: the index patient, his sister and his brother. Data at diagno...

Introduction: Although there are several studies on the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), there are few data showing incidence and evolution of CH detected by the second newborn screening (NBS).Objectives: To assess the incidence of CH in Lombardia region and the percentage of patients identified by the 2ndNBS. To describe the clinical features and evolution of CH patients detected by the 2nd</...

Background: National and international guidelines recommend thyrotropin (TSH) determination as the most sensitive test for detecting primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in newborn screening programs. A strategy of a second screening at 2 weeks of age, or 2 weeks after the first screening was carried out, is also recommended in preterm, LBW and VLBW neonates, twins, neonates admitted in NICU, and babies with specimen collection within the first 24 hours of life [1–3]. H...

We present the case of a 7-year-old female affected by permanent congenital hypothyroidism and Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome. The patient was born at 31+4 gestational weeks because of premature rupture of membranes. At birth her auxological parameters were adequate for gestational age with a 75th percentile head circumference. She was diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidsm (TSH 1016 mcu/ml, FT4 <0.4 ng/dl) with an in situ gland caused by a homozygous mutation...

Introduction: The underlying genetic causes of congenital hypothyroidism with gland in-situ (CH GIS) and hyperthyrotropinemia (HT) remain largely a mystery. Thanks to NGS, genetic screening is now finding many novel variants. The challenge is to correctly identify which genes and which variants lead to CH and which cause only a transient HT.Objectives: Our objectives were to evaluate the presence of variants in 14 candid...

Background: The initial L-T4 dose currently recommended in the treatment of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is 10–15 mcg/kg per day.Objective and hypotheses: We designed a multicenter randomized trial to evaluate the effects of different starting doses of L-T4 within the range 10–15 mcg/kg per day on neurocognitive development in children with CH.Method: Seventy-two children with CH diagnosed by neonatal screening were enr...

Background: Many studies have shown that GH therapy can increase final height in children born SGA. Adult height and growth velocity can be improved in these subjects even if there is not a deficiency of endogenous GH (GHD).Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to analyze growth response after 1 year of GH treatment in children born SGA without GH deficiency.Method: Ten patients (six M, four F) born SGA (according to Gagliardi et ...

Background: Over the years special screening procedures for preterm and twin babies (re-screening at 2–4 weeks of life) have been adopted by many screening laboratories worldwide. However, no extensive studies have been performed to verify how many co-twins with negative test at first screening (3–5 days) become positive at re-screening, and the utility of a long-term follow-up also in co-twin with negative test at screening and re-screening.Ob...

Introduction: Few studies have been published comparing the liquid and tablet formulations of L-T4 in pediatric patients, with a short follow-up period. Both formulations seemed to produce a rapid normalization of thyroid fuction with a tendency of a greater TSH inhibition in children taking the L-T4 liquid drops. The aim of our study is to compare the long-term effectiveness and saftey of both liquid and tablet L-T4 therapy in CH patients up to 3 years old via a multicenter s...

Background: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) has been linked to papillary cancer in adults but not in children and adolescents. Moreover, there is no agreement on the more appropriate frequency of thyroid ultrasound (TS) in the follow-up of children with HT.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of thyroid nodules and of thyroid cancer in a large group of children and adolescents (567) with HT followed-up for a m...