Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part A (2017)
Thyroid profile reference limits and normal values for adult and geriatric population of Taita-taveta County, Kenya
Author(s):
Richard M Gitimu, Joseph K Gikunju, Stanley K Waithaka and Eliud NM Njagi
Abstract:
Reference interval limits for thyronine (TSH), thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) for geriatrics of the world including those of geriatrics of Taita-Taveta County, Kenya are limited. The aim of this study was to develop the 95% reference interval limits for thyronine (TSH), total thyroxine (T4), and total triiodothyronine (T3) for adults and geriatrics of Taita-Taveta County, Kenya. Two hundred and forty four referent individual randomly recruited from the four sub-county of Taita Taveta (Mwatate, Wundanyi, Voi and Taveta) County, Kenya participated in this reference interval limits development study. These referents had no history of thyroid gland diseases, were not on medication for thyroid diseases, and medications that affect the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid gland axis. These referents were free from HIV/ AIDS, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and pregnancy. The serum used for the measurement of thyronin (TSH), total tetraiodothyronine (thyroxine [T4]) and triiodothyronine (T3) was obtained from blood which had been drawn from the vein of the 244 referent participants between 7-10 am after 8 to 12 hours of fasting recruited between May 2015 and December 2017. TSH, T4 and T3 were measured on a quality controlled calibrated Chemwell Auto-Analyzer machine using the principle that combines an enzyme immunoassay sandwich method with a final fluorescent detection (enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA)) at the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Taita-Taveta Sub County Hospital, Voi, Kenya. The reference interval limits for the measured analytes was based on the median and 2.5 percentile and 97.5 percentile. The developed reference interval limits for TSH, T4 and T3 were 0-6 mU/L, 2-15 nmol/L and 0-4 nmol/L, respectively. There were significant age and sex related differences in T4. The developed reference interval limits for TSH, T4 and T3 differed from those reported in reagents manufacturer kits and literature. This study has established age and gender dependent 95% reference intervals for TSH, T4 and T3 that differ from those reported in literature. Each clinical laboratory therefore needs to develop their own reference intervals using their local healthy population for these analytes for accurate diagnosis and effective medical care for patients suffering from thyroid gland related diseases.
Pages: 47-57 | 746 Views 346 Downloads
How to cite this article:
Richard M Gitimu, Joseph K Gikunju, Stanley K Waithaka and Eliud NM Njagi. Thyroid profile reference limits and normal values for adult and geriatric population of Taita-taveta County, Kenya. Int. J. Adv. Biochem. Res. 2017;1(1):47-57. DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2017.v1.i1a.118