Children who are receiving chronic parenteral nutrition (PN) therapy may be at a higher risk of developing an iodine deficiency and subsequent hypothyroidism, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

Researchers performed a cross-sectional study in 27 children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio who were younger than 17 years old who have received PN for more than 6 months and who received less than 50% of their total nutrition enterally, to determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency and hypothyroidism.

Study results showed that of the 24 patients with available thyroid function tests, 8 patients had hypothyroidism, defined as thyrotropin (TSH) level >4 µIL/L, 6 had a TSH level >10 µIL/mL, and 4 had severe hypothyroidism with concurrent low free thyroxine levels.