EVALUATION OF THYROID PROFILE OF TERM AND PRETERM NEONATES AT 1ST AND 4TH WEEK AFTER BIRTH: A HOSPITAL BASED OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.
Objective: st th To evaluate the thyroid prole(T4,FT4 and TSH) in term and preterm neonates at 1 week after birth and during follow up at 4 week. Material and Method: This prospective observational hospital based study was conducted with 30 term(>37 completed week) and 30 preterm neonates(from 28 to 36 week 6days) with exclusion criteria of maternal thyroid disease or neonates with co-morbidity or signicant congenital st th anomalies. Serum T4,FT4 and TSH level were measured at 1 week and 4 week of postnatal age and results are analysed statistically. Results: st th We found TSH was elevated more in preterm than in term neonates in the 1 week, which decreased in both the groups at the 4 week . T4 st th and FT4 were signicantly higher in the term neonates than in preterm in the 1 week. During follow up in the 4 week, T4 and FT4 decreases in st term and increases in preterm so that the FT4 level almost matches in both the group at the end of 1 month. Conclusion: Our study shows that T4, FT4 and TSH has a signicant relationship with gestational age. Premature infants are born with higher th levels of TSH and lower levels of FT4 and T4 than term, which almost normalizes at 4 week.