Randomized Controlled Trial on Comparison of the Course of Hyperthyroid Patients with and Without Antithyroid Drugs During the Immediate Post Radioactive Iodine Treatment Period

Abstract

This study was done to compare the clinical course of hyperthyroid patients with and without anti-thyroid drugs immediately post radioactive iodine treatment. Materials and Methods: Patients with mild to moderate hyperthyroidism, aged 18 to 60 years, were divided into 2 groups, those who received RAI plus anti-thyroid (ATD) (propylthiouracil 100 mg q8H) (group A) and those who received RAI only (group B). Fixed doses of 8 mCi 131I were given and symptoms were scored daily for 3 weeks, using 3-severe, 2-moderate, 1-mild scores. Descriptive analysis using mean and standard deviation was used to determine the demographic profiles and Mann Whitney t-test for independent samples was utilized to com-pare the symptoms between the two groups. All statistical tests were pegged at .05 alpha level and p-values less than .05 were considered sig-nificant. Results: There were 3 males and 5 females in group A (n=8, mean age: 38±12.82 yrs) and 2 males and 6 females in group B, (n=8, mean age: 41.37±15.14 yrs). TSH was suppressed in both groups and the mean FT4 for group A was 13.87±16.51 pmol/L, and for group B was 28.51±15.86 pmol/L. There was no significant dif-ference in age, FT4 and TSH. Mean scores were as follows: (Group A vs. Group B), week one: 1.36 vs. 1.55 (p=0.01); week two: 1.08 vs. 0.94 (p= 0.110), and week three: 0.71 vs. 0.92 (p= 0.006). A highly significant decrease in symptoms was noted in week three. Conclusion: Analysis of our data showed that patients given ATD immediately post RAI ex-perienced lesser symptoms of thyrotoxicosis dur-ing the first and third week after RAI treatment, favoring treatment with ATD.