Universal Screening For Thyroid Disease During Pregnancy Should Be Performed

Publication date: Available online 6 September 2019Source: Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & MetabolismAuthor(s): Alex Stagnaro-Green, Allan Dong, Mary D. StephensonAbstractThyroid disease can significantly impact the pregnant woman and her child. Human and animal studies have firmly linked overt hypothyroidism and overt hyperthyroidism to miscarriage, preterm delivery and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. Overt hypothyroidism and overt hyperthyroidism affect 1% of all pregnancies. Treatment is widely available, and if detected early, results in decreased rates of adverse outcomes. Universal screening for thyroid disease in pregnancy can identify patients with thyroid disease requiring treatment, and ultimately decrease rates of complications. Universal screening is cost-effective compared to the currently accepted practice of targeted screening and may even be cost-saving in some healthcare systems. Targeted screening, which is recommended by most professional associations, fails to detect a large proportion of pregnant women with thyroid disease. In fact, an increasing number of providers are performing universal screening for thyroid disease in pregnancy, contrary to society guidelines. Limited evidence concerning the impact of untreated and treated subclinical disease and thyroid autoimmunity has distracted from the core rationale for universal screening – the beneficial impact of detecting and treating overt thyroid disease. Evidence supporting universa...
Source: Best Practice and Research Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research