Congenital hypothyroid screening: the Oman experience.

In September 1991, a pilot scheme was inaugurated to screen all babies born at the Royal and Khoula Hospitals for congenital hypothyroidism (CHT). By December 1995, 36,000 babies were screened and 16 cases of congenital hypothyroidism were diagnosed. This suggests an incidence of 1:2200 which is higher than the reported incidence in Caucasian populations and similar to the incidence reported from Saudi Arabia. This report summarizes our experience for the first 5 years.