Radioiodine Cures Most Thyrotoxicosis, but Hypothyroidism Often Results!
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Treatment with radioactive iodine (radioiodine) was able to cure 92% of patients with thyrotoxicosis in a single-center New Zealand study of 222 patients treated in 2015. The most common cause of thyrotoxicosis was Graves disease (66% of patients), followed by toxic nodular goiter (26%) and solitary toxic nodule (8%). Following radioiodine treatment, nearly two thirds of patients developed hypothyroidism, especially those with thyrotoxicosis secondary to Graves disease.
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@moucheta The findings suggest that although individualized dosing is pragmatic it's also reasonable to select treatment doses from a preselected group of standard fixed doses such as 200, 400, 550 or 600, 800, and 1000 MBq, with the decision based on thyroid size and other patient characteristics. Although many patients with thyrotoxicosis treated with radioiodine seek normal thyroid function without need for thyroid medication, these results showed that many patients with Graves disease as well as some patients with toxic nodular goiter or solitary toxic nodule needed thyroxine after radioiodine treatment. And so patients need to be well-informed about this possible outcome and physicians need to have realistic expectations for treatment outcomes.