DOPAMINE SUPPRESSES THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE-SECRETION IN NEONATAL-HYPOTHYROIDISM

The infusion of dopamine, a hypophysiotropic catecholamine, which inhi bits release of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), is the inotropic th erapy of first choice in neonatal intensive care. Newborns with primar y hypothyroidism are at increased risk of cardiocirculatory morbidity and are screened by measuring serum TSH concentrations. In an infant w ith both congenital heart disease and neonatal hypothyroidism, withdra wal of dopamine infusion was documented to evoke a doubling of serum T SH levels within 40 min, a finding suggestive of an inhibitory effect of dopamine administration on neonatal TSH hypersecretion. As a result , dopamine therapy may be a pitfall in TSH screening for neonatal hypo thyroidism.