Neuropsychological and physical development of patients diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism at the San Ignacio University Hospital between 2001 and 2017

Introduction: Congenital hypothyroidism is the leading cause of preventable cognitive disability in the world. Therefore, screening programs have been developed in order to reduce the neurological sequelae associated with this pathology. Objective: To describe the demographic characteristics, the treatment, and the follow-up of patients diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism in the screening program at the San Ignacio University Hospital in Bogotá, Colombia. Materials and methods: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study. The study population was patients diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism at the Hospital between 2001 and 2017. Results: Fourteen of the 19 patients diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism in the hospital screening program were contacted. All of the patients had schooling, most of them had adequate weight and height, and two had short stature. In most of them, the etiological diagnosis was thyroid hypoplasia, and all began the treatment and follow-up in an adequate way. The most frequent alteration in the neuropsychological tests was in the memory domain and the level of maternal education could be related to an abnormal result in the domain of language. Conclusion: In our study, alterations in the memory tests were the most prevalent; however, due to the design and type of study, more research is required to establish associations. A low frequency of abnormal growth and puberty was found.