Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: It is because of the heavy somatic and especially intellectual impact of congenital hypothyroidism that its systematic screening from birth has been proved to be essential. Numerous publications have already reported the considerable improvement in the prognosis of this condition but still few relate to adults. This preliminary work proposes to report the adult outcome in a cohort of 12 patients followed for congenital hypothyroidism.

Patients and methods: Descriptive study of 12 patients, seven girls and five boys, followed for congenital hypothyroidism in the pediatric department of Mahdia and who reached an age of 18 years.

Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 4.5 months. The average term was 38 SA. The mean birth size was 49.5 cm. The mean birth weight was 3700 g. Regarding statural development: the average final size was 153.5 cm (128–174). The difference between final size and target size was –0.7 DS. The last average BMI was 21.35 kg/m² (16–27). Regarding pubertal development: In girls, the onset of breast development (S2) appeared at the average age of 9 and a half years, the average age of menarche was 12 years. In boys, the onset of increased testicular volume (G2) appeared at the average age of 13 years, the onset of pubic hair (P2) at 12 years. For the school curriculum: in primary school, all children were admitted to the normal age of 6 years. Only one patient redoubled in primary. Four patients redoubled in secondary, only nine patients reached the baccalauréat and three left the high school.

Discussion: An improvement in the results is still possible by acting on the different prognostic factors: age at onset of treatment, higher dose of thyroxine in the neonatal period, psychological monitoring with appropriate aids if necessary and above all compliance in adolescence.

Conclusion: It is impossible to draw definitive conclusions from this study, given the small number of patients studied. This is a preliminary study of work to be continued in the adult sector. For this these patients were oriented in the service of adult endocrinology.