Elif Sağsak, Aydilek Dağdeviren Çakır, Yavuz Özer, Gül Yeşiltepe Mutlu, Bahar Özcabı, Cengiz Kara, Thyroid Research Group
Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology - 2025;17(4):387-395
Objective: This study was conducted to assess the perspectives of pediatric endocrinologists in Türkiye about the management of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and to analyze the potential impact of work environment and professional experience on different attitudes. Methods: The members of the Turkish Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes were invited to participate in an online survey. An evaluation was made after obtaining survey responses from 95 (19%) of 502 members. Results: Participants' mean age was 42.0+/-9.6 years, 46.3% of them were working in a university hospital, and 48.6% had >7 years of work experience. When the participants were asked about their approach to a 1-3-week-old neonate whose serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration was 6-20 mU/L with a serum-free thyroxine (FT4) concentration within the age-specific reference interval, Conclusion: Although the attitudes of pediatric endocrinologists working in Türkiye towards the management of CH are generally consistent with the recommendations of international guidelines, their approaches to the treatment for isolated neonatal TSH elevation, thyroid imaging preferences and time to discontinue treatment differ significantly. These different attitudes, which are similar between all subgroups by experience and work setting, reflect the differences in local conditions in Türkiye and underline the need for a national consensus on the management of CH.
