The Association Between Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy and Thyroid Hormones.

Abstract

We aimed to compare serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (fT4) levels in neonates with different hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) stages undergoing therapeutic hypothermia (TH), and to evaluate the TSH and fT4 levels in neonates with HIE/TH in comparison with a control group. This was a retrospective study conducted between January 2020 and December 2022. The neonates with HIE/TH constituted the study group and the neonates with transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) constituted the control group. The study group consisted of neonates with stage 2 and stage 3 HIE. Serum TSH and fT4 levels measured at postnatal fifth day were compared between the groups. Of the 202 (47.1%) neonates included in the study group, 144 (71.3%) had stage 2 HIE and 58 (28.7%) had stage 3 HIE. In the control group, there were 227 (52.9%) newborns. Serum TSH and fT4 levels were found to be lower in the newborns with stage 3 HIE compared with those with stage 2 HIE (p = 0.015, 0.002, respectively). Although the serum TSH level was higher in the newborns with HIE compared with the newborns with TTN, serum fT4 levels did not change between the groups (p = < 0.001, 0.14, respectively). When we made the analysis according to the reference intervals, HIE/TH was associated with higher rates of TSH elevation compared with TTN, and the difference was more pronounced in stage 2 HIE/TH (p < 0.001). Although stage 3 HIE/TH was significantly associated with higher rates of low fT4 compared with TTN (p = 0.006), this relationship was not significant between stage 2 HIE/TH and TTN. It would be reasonable to interpret thyroid function tests performed on the fifth day with caution in newborns with HIE/TH, because higher TSH and lower fT4 levels on the fifth day in this patient group may result in unnecessary repetition of tests.