A comparative study on serum thyroid hormone level in asphyxiated preterm and term newborn in cord blood at birth and 72 hrs of life, in a tertiary care center

Introduction: Thyroid hormone is essential for somatic growth and neurodevelopment. Its level is influenced by various factors. Perinatal asphyxia which altered several homones in neonate still less is known about the effect on neonatal thyroid hormone levels. Our study is to evaluate the effect of perinatal asphyxia, that alters the thyroid function in both term and preterm asphyxiated newborn by comparing cord blood and 72 hours venous blood. Materials and Methods: A prospective case-control study was carried out at Tertiary care Gayatri Hospital. we evaluated thyroid function in 40 asphyxiated term newborns and 40 preterm newborns (34-36 wks) with with history of low apgar score at birth (< 6 at 1 and 5 min) with acidosis (pH < 7.20), and 40 normal healthy preterm, born by spontaneous vaginal delivery were taken. In all the cases proper maternal and perinatal history was taken and categorized accordingly. Cord blood and 72 hours after birth venous blood were collected in both babies and compared the level of thyroid hormones (T3, T4, TSH) via radioimmunoassay. Results: There was no significant difference in thyroid hormone, observed in cord blood and in venous sample 72 hours after birth in asphyxiated preterm as compared to term baby. Conclusion: Perinatal asphyxia affects thyroid function but there were less studies done so far over asphyxiated premature baby, to know the association between thyroid hormone level and asphyxia as term babies. So a larger study is needed to support and confirm our observations.