فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Background: Hypothyroidism, a preventable cause of mental retardation, is one of the most common diseases of the endocrine gland in children. The disorder can be corrected if it is identified and treated within the first few days of birth. In Iran, hypothyroidism is estimated to affect one out of 400 to 900 neonates, which is much higher than the global average. Objectives: This article is conducted to investigate the most cost–utility option i.e. whether to implement the neonatal screening of genetic hypothyroidism or to merely treat such patients in the absence of the screening process. Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) of hypothyroidism, calculated through dividing the cost difference (∆C) by utility difference (∆QALY), indicated that screening saved a total of 13413 US. $. Conclusions: The economic evaluation (cost-utility analysis) resulted from the comparison of the above choices revealed that implementing the screening plan can actually be better and more cost-effective.