Influence of topical iodine-containing antiseptics used during delivery on recall rate of congenital hypothyroidism screening program.

Background: The proportion of newborns recalled during neonatal screening programs for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) varies substantially by country and may be higher in settings where povodine iodine (PVP-I) is used during delivery. We assessed this hypothesis by substituting PVP-I for chlorhexidine (CHL) and evaluated the reduction in the recall rate of the Irainian newborn screening program.

Methods: This study investigated 2282 neonates of mothers admitted to a local hospital for delivery between December 2012 and October 2013.