Blood Drug Testing

What Tests are used to Find Congenital Hypothyroidism Children

Summary: What Tests are used to Find Congenital Hypothyroidism Children born with symptoms have a greater risk of developmental delay than children born without symptoms The usual way to discover congenital hypothyroidism is by a screening process done on all newborns between 24 and 72 hrs old The reason this is done so early is that infants with congenital hypothyroidism usually appear normal at birth and many do not show any of the signs or symptoms noted before For the screening test blood is obtained from your babies heel and is placed on a filter paper At a laboratory the T4 and or TSH level is measured If the T4 is low and or the TSH is elevated indicating hypothyroidism your pediatrician is contacted immediately so treatment can begin without delay It is likely that the blood test will be repeated to confirm the diagnosis The physicians may also take an x ray of the legs to look at the ends of the bones In babies with hypothyroidism the bones have an immature appearance which helps to confirm diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism A thyroid scan should be done to determine the location or absence of the thyroid gland These tests bone age and thyroid scan can be done at the time of diagnosis

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