ABSTRACT
Gastrointestinal complications of hypothyroidism are well documented and include constipation,
obstipation, and abdominal distention, as well as ileus, pseudo-obstruction, tumorlike
mass of the intestine, and megacolon. We report herein on a 2-week-old, full-term
female infant, who had both necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and congenital hypothyroidism.
We further describe the response to therapy with intravenous L-thyrox-ine. To our
knowledge, the patient's course is the first report of intravenous L-thyroxine in
the management of congenital hypothyroidism when oral replacement is not an option.
The possible causal relationship between NEC and hypothyroidism is discussed.
