[Neonatal hyperthyroidism in a premature infant born to a mother with Grave's disease]

[Neonatal hyperthyroidism and maternal Graves disease]

The onset of Graves disease during pregnancy exposes the neonate to the risk of hyperthyroidism. The newborn must be monitored and treatment modalities known to ensure early treatment of the newborn. We report on the case of an infant born at term of a mother with Graves disease discovered during pregnancy. He was asymptomatic during the first days of life, before declaring the disease. Neonatal hyperthyroidism was confirmed by hormonal assays. Hyperthyroidism was treated with antithyroid drugs and propranolol with a satisfactory clinical and biological course. Neonatal hyperthyroidism should be systematically sought in infants born to a mother with Graves disease. The absence of clinical signs during the first days of life does not exclude the diagnosis. The duration of monitoring should be decided according to the results of the first hormonal balance tests.

[Transient neonatal thyrotoxicosis: clinical presentation and treatment in 7 cases]

Neonatal thyrotoxicosis is a rare disease. The goal of this study was to analyse main neonatal symptoms, clinical complications and patient's care.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This retrospective study concerned the newborns admitted with neonatal thyrotoxicosis between 1992 and 2004 in the neonatal department of Bordeaux, Toulouse and Pau hospital.

RESULTS

Seven of these patients were included in the study. All of the newborns had permanent tachycardia and 3 of them had respiratory failure. Two patients had potentially lethal clinical complications. The first had goitre with tracheal compression. The second developed global heart failure on his 13th day of life. The onset of antithyroid drug treatment was between the 3rd and the 18th day of life. Mean duration of treatment was 50 days. Occurring complications were neutropenia in 3 patients and hypothyroidism in 1 patient. The children were tracked during their first year, and all had normal growth and normal neurological development.

CONCLUSION

The main prognostic factor is the early onset of antithyroid treatment. In our study, 2 patients had potentially lethal clinical complications. Adequate care depends on early spotting of high-risk newborn.

[Severe neonatal hyperthyroidism which reveals a maternal Graves' disease]

Two of every thousand pregnancies are complicated by Graves' disease. Diagnosis is suggested by maternal disorders (tachycardia, exophthalmia, weight loss.) or fetal disorders (tachycardia, intra-uterine growth retardation, preterm birth.). Due to transfer into the fetal compartment of maternal antibodies which stimulate the fetal thyroid by binding to the thyroid thyrotropin (TSH) receptor, only 1% of children born to these mothers are described as having hyperthyroidism. Neonatal thyrotoxicosis disappears with clearance of the maternal antibodies; clinical signs usually disappear during the first four Months of life. The most frequent neonatal clinical signs of thyrotoxicosis are tachycardia, goiter, hyperexcitability, poor weight gain, hepatosplenomegaly, stare and eyelid retraction. Diagnosis is based on determination of the blood level of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and TSH. To confirm the nature of hyperthyroidism, thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI) should be assayed. The kinetics of TSI provides a guide for therapeutic adaptation and disappearance of TSI is a sign of recovery. Rare cases of familial non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism have been shown to be caused by germline mutation of the thyrotropin receptor. We report a case of severe neonatal hyperthyroidism which led to the diagnosis of maternal Graves' disease.