Background National guidelines recommend that thyroid function is assessed at diagnosis of type I diabetes (TIDM) and annually thereafter. This paper reports an audit of thyroid surveillance in accordance with this guideline.

Patients 110 patients (66 males), median age 11.3 (1.2–15.7) years at diagnosis of TIDM, were monitored for 2.3 (0.7–4.2) years.

Results 21/110 (19.0%) patients had abnormal thyroid function at diagnosis of TIDM. Of these, 16 had normal thyroid function on reassessment after 45 (3–540) days. Abnormalities of thyroid function occurred more commonly in children with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) than those who did not have DKA (9/29, 31.0% vs 12/81, 14.8%, p<0.025). At the end of the observation period, five (4.5%) patients had minor abnormalities of thyroid function not requiring treatment and three (2.7%) were treated.

Conclusions Transient abnormalities of thyroid function are common at diagnosis of TIDM, and therefore, thyroid hormones should not be measured at this time.