Patient's question:
My sister is 28 years old this year. She got pregnant recently. Her friend's child was diagnosed with hypothyroidism after birth. What are the methods for screening newborns for hypothyroidism?Doctor's answer:
Currently, it is considered that measuring TSH in heel blood (test strip method) is a reliable screening method. Within 24-72 hours after birth, heel blood is collected and applied to a filter paper, which is then naturally dried at room temperature before measuring the TSH level for initial screening. Alternatively, 2 milliliters of umbilical cord blood is taken after birth, and a sensitive TSH test is performed first. If the TSH is abnormal, heel blood is collected one week later to test T4 and TSH for confirmation. The standard for suspected cases is TSH > (20-25) microunits per liter (μU/L).