Thyroid function in very-low-birth-weight infants with intraventricular hemorrhage

The objective of this investigation was to study the natural course of thyr oid function in infants with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). A cohort of infants <1,500 grams birth weight, n=247, were included in the: analysis. Total T-4 and thyrotropin from newborn screening during the Ist week of lif e (Test 1) and from repeat screening at 2-4 weeks postnatal age (Test 2) we re compared in infants with IVII (n=43) and a group of infants without IVH, Fifty-nine percent of infants still had transient hypothyroxinemia at the time of Test 2. After multivariate analysis, infants with IVH had an increa sed odds of having a T-4 <less than or equal to>6 mug/dL on Test 1 (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.2-6.5), but at the time of Test 2 IVH was not associated with an increased odds of having a low T-4. Only gestational age (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1. 1-2.5) remained associated with an increased odds of having an extremely lo w T-4 (less than or equal to4 mug/dL) at this time. Transient hypothyroxine mia remains common at 2-4 weeks of age in preterm infants, IVH is not indep endently associated with having a low T-4 at this time.