Purpose of review: Here we review typical thyroid function alterations observed in the critically ill pediatric patient.
Recent findings: Abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis have recently been confirmed to be prevalent in similar proportions in pediatric and adult patients. Significant benefits of therapy have yet to be demonstrated.
Summary: At present, there is no evidence of benefit in giving thyroid hormone to patients with nonthyroidal illness who have low serum T3 or T4 concentrations, including preterm infants and postcardiac surgery patients.