The thyroid gland is an essential gland in the function of the human body. Here we take a brief look at the thyroid stimulating hormone and how it is assessed.

1. Thyroid stimulating hormone
The thyroidstimulatinghormonei.e.TSHisa hormone thatis releasedbythe pituitaryglandthatis
responsible secretionof thyroxine bythe thyroidgland.Assessmentof TSHcan be done througha
simple bloodtestanalysis.
Performinga TSH analysis
Assessingthe thyroidstimulatinghormonelevelsinthe bloodisverysimple.Firstly,itisimportant
that any medicationthatmayaffectthe levelsof TSHin the bloodstreambe stopped.Examples
include lithium,prednisolone andamiodarone.
However,itmaynot alwaysbe possible tostopthese drugsespeciallyif theyare essential inthe
treatmentof the patient.
A small needleisinsertedintothe veinandthe requiredquantityof bloodisremovedforanalysis.
Thisis thensentto a clinical pathologylaboratorywhere the sampleisanalysed.
Interpretingthe results
A lowTSH value inthose individualswhoare nottakinganyformof medicationmayindicate an
overactive thyroid i.e hyperthyroidism.Additional testsmaybe requiredinordertoconfirmthis.
However,if the levelsof TSHat high,it ispossible thatthe thyroidisunderactiveandthe patientis
sufferingfromhypothyroidism.
Normal levelsof TSHrange between0.4– 4 mIU/L. The levelsdeterminedthroughclinical laboratory
analysismayvarydependinguponthe use of certainmedicationandthe presence of infections.
For thisveryreason,itis importantforthe treatingphysiciantoobtaina clear-cuthistoryfromthe
patientregardingthe use of drugsand the presence of a feverorany underlyingco-morbidities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, performingathyroidstimulatinghormone levelisauseful testtodetermine the
functionof the thyroidgland.