Abstract:
"Congenital hypothyroidism is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation, where
screening is routine in most Western countries, it is not yet established in our country.
The objective of our work is to detect congenital hypothyroidism in the University
Hospital of Constantine .We performed a prospective study of 83 newborns (53% girls, 47%
boys) aged 3 to 8 days, taken and analyzed in the service of biochemistry at the University
Hospital of Constantine, a few drops of capillary blood collected at the heel of the newborn
deposited on special filter paper, the dosage thereafter being realized. The TSH levels were
normal in 90,4% of cases (75 newborn: 40 girls, 35 boys), with a mean rate of 4.40± 4,69
mUI/L (boys : 4,04 ± 4,26 mUI/l, girls : 4,72 ± 5,06 mUI/l). The 9,6% (8 samples) remaining
had high rates of TSH > à 9 mUI/L, 4 of them have been rechecked . No cases of congenital
hypothyroidism have been found.
Screening for congenital hypothyroidism is the only way to avoid cases of cretinism in
children by the early treating of cases detected. Many efforts are deployed to implement such
screening in our country."
