All issues > Volume 36(11); 1993

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1993;36(11):1502-1506. Published online November 15, 1993.

Re-evaluation of TSH Screening TEST in Neonates

Jin Young JY Song¹, Dong Woo DW Son¹, Beyong Il BI Kim¹, Sei Won SW Yang¹, Jung-Hwan JH Choi¹, Chong Ku CK Yoon¹, Hyung Ro HR Moon¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Five years ago, we made the cut-off value of TSH by dry filter paper method as 15μU/ml to screening congenital hypothyrodism. Since then, 1,210 term neonates, who had no perinatal problems, screening test with this cut-off point. Neonates had been recalled for measurement of serum T4/TSH to rule out congenital hypothyroidism if their TSH value by screening tests reveal more than 15μU/ml. Because there had high false-positive rate during 5 years, we felt this cut-off value of TSH should be set higher than 15μU/ml with same method. Therefore, we analyzed this TSH values to set a new cut-off point to recall the neonates. The results are as below : 1) TSH value by dry filter paper method was 8.48±4.41μU/ml(mean±S.D.) 2) Assuming 15μU/ml as a cut-off point for recall the neonates, the false positive rate is 8.01%. 3) To make the false positive rates as 0.3%, it is reasonable to set the cut-off point at 22μU/ml, which is ±3S.D.(99.7 percentile) of measured TSH level by dry filter paper method.

Keywords :TSH screening, Congenital hypothyroidism, False positive rate