Surgery for thyrotoxicosis

Author(s):  
Mauricio Moreno ◽  
Nancy D. Perrier ◽  
Orlo Clark

Surgical intervention plays a critical role in the management of thyrotoxicosis. Despite this, radioactive iodine is still the most popular treatment modality in the USA. Thyrotoxicosis, the condition of hyperthyroidism, is due to the increased secretion of thyroid hormone, and may be caused by toxic solitary nodules, toxic multinodular goitre (Plummer’s disease), or diffuse toxic goitre (Graves’ disease). Graves’ disease is the condition of goitre and associated clinical features of tachycardia and bulging eyes described by Dr Robert James Graves (1797–1853) in 1835 (1). Understanding the pathophysiology of the condition of thyrotoxicosis is essential in the appropriate selection of surgical candidates and planning the most suitable technique. Generally, accepted indications for thyroidectomy for thyrotoxicosis include: suspicion of malignancy by physical examination (firmness, irregularity, or attachment to local structures) or by fine-needle aspiration cytology of nodules; pregnancy; women desiring pregnancy within 6–12 months of treatment; lactation; medical necessity for rapid control of symptoms (patients with cardiac morbidity); local compression (pain, dysphagia); recurrence after antithyroid drug treatment; fear of radioactive iodine treatment; resistance to 131I or antithyroid drugs; or thyroid storm unresponsive to medical therapy. Other more relative indications for thyroidectomy also include: large goitres greater than 100 g that are less likely to respond to radioactive treatment and require a large treatment dose of 131I; severe Graves’ ophthalmopathy; poor compliance with antithyroid drugs; children and adolescents; a large, bothersome, and unsightly goitre; amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis, in cases when medical treatment is ineffective and amiodarone is necessary to treat cardiac disease; or hypersensitivity to iodine.

Author(s):  
Danilo Villagelin ◽  
Roberto Bernardo Santos ◽  
João Hamilton Romaldini

Context: Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease caused by thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb). These antibodies can be measured and used for the diagnosis, prediction of remission, and risk of Graves’ orbitopathy development. There are three treatments for Graves’ disease that have remained unchanged for the last 75 years: Antithyroid drugs, radioiodine, and surgery. Antithyroid drugs are the first treatment option worldwide and are usually used for 12 - 18 months. Recent reports suggest the use of antithyroid drugs for more than 18 months with better outcomes. This review focuses on two aspects of treatment with antithyroid drugs: The impact of using antithyroid drugs for more than 12 - 18 months on remission rates and the trend of TRAb during prolonged antithyroid drug treatment. Evidence Acquisition: A review was performed in Medline on the published work regarding the duration of ATD treatment and remission of Graves' disease and also ATD treatment and TRAb status during the 1990 - 2019 period. Results: Remission rates are variable (30% - 80%), and many clinical and genetic factors serve as predictors. The long-term use of antithyroid drugs appears to increase remission rates. TRAb values usually decline during ATD treatment, but the trend could occur in two ways: Becoming negative or showing a fluctuating pattern. However, approximately 10% of the patients will remain TRAb-positive after five years of treatment with antithyroid drugs. Conclusions: Antithyroid drugs can be used for long periods with an increase in remission rates, and a gradual decrease in TRAb levels, with the disappearance of TRAb in 90% of the patients after 60 months.


2004 ◽  
pp. 155-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
GE Krassas ◽  
Z Laron

Graves' disease (GD) is the most common cause of juvenile thyrotoxicosis in children and adolescents (1, 2). Three treatment modalities are now available for the treatment of Graves' thyrotoxicosis in childhood: antithyroid drugs (ATD), surgery and radioactive iodine (RAI). However, none of these treatments has been shown to be ideal or clearly superior to the others. Physicians in different countries have different approaches concerning the optimal treatment of juvenile GD.In a European questionnaire study (3), which was conducted by the European Thyroid Association in 1993 and in which 99 individuals or groups from 22 countries participated, it was found that 22 out of 99 physicians from nine countries would consider RAI treatment as the treatment of choice for children with recurrent thyrotoxicosis after surgery, or with recurrent thyrotoxicosis 2 years after ATD. However, RAI is preferred by only a small percentage of physicians for this group of patients in Europe. Hardly any of the respondents chose RAI for the patients with a toxic adenoma or a multinodular toxic goiter (3). On the other hand, in view of the difficulties with medical therapy in children and adolescents, including poor compliance, a high rate of relapse, drug toxicity and continued thyroid enlargement, some eminent American physicians emphasize the safety, simplicity and economic advantages of (131)I ablation which should be considered more commonly in children (4, 5).We had the opportunity to conduct a similar study during a pediatric thyroidology symposium, which was organized by Professors Buyugkebiz and Laron in Izmir (Smyrna) Turkey from 30 October to 1 November 2003. During the congress a questionnaire with the following four questions was circulated among the 120 participants from eight countries who were mainly paediatric endocrinologists. Most of them were from Turkey and the rest, except for one who came from the USA, were Europeans. Sixty-one out of the 120 physicians responded.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Alvarez Andrade ◽  
Lorena Pabón Duarte

Graves disease is an autoimmune disease, with a genetic susceptibility, activated by environmental factors like stress, iodine excess, infections, pregnancy and smoking. It is caused by thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) or thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb) and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism with an incidence of 21 per 100,000 per year. Treatment of Graves disease includes antithyroid drugs such as methimazole and propylthiouracil, radioactive iodine therapy and thyroidectomy. Methimazole, an antithyroid drug that belongs to the thioamides class, is usually the first line of treatment due to lower risk of hepatotoxicity compared to propylthiouracil. Radioactive iodine therapy is reserved for those patients who do not respond to antithyroid drugs or have contraindication or adverse effects generated by antithyroid drugs, and thyroid surgery is an option in people with thyroid nodular disease with suspected malignancy or large goiters such as predictors of poor response to antithyroid drugs and radioactive iodine therapy. Multiple factors influence the management of patients with Graves disease including patient and physician preferences, access to medical services and patients features such as age, complications and comorbidities.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9
Author(s):  
Astasio Picado Álvaro

Hyperthyroidism is a common disease that affects 0.8% of the population in Europe. It occurs when the thyroid gland produces more thyroid hormones than your body needs. There are several types of treatment, such as antithyroid drugs, treatment with radioactive iodine (131I) and finally surgery, in addition to these treatments, reference is made to a good hygienic-dietary orientation. Objective: to assess from the nursing field the safest and most effective type of hyperthyroidism treatment, including the risk factors to take into account when carrying out these. Methodology: systematic searches were carried out in bibliographic sources of trials and articles published between 2015 and 2021. Including studies that contained data on risk factors for hyperthyroidism. Results: of 426 related articles found, 13 met the inclusion criteria. Total thyroidectomy surgery induced a 26% therapeutic failure rate and 95% radioactive iodine treatment compared to the 19.1% therapeutic failure in antithyroid drug treatment. Conclusion: Despite the verification of the efficacy of all existing hyperthyroidism treatments, antithyroid drugs have greater efficacy and safety than the rest of the treatments studied, in relation to the time and rate of remission. On the other hand, risk factors such as tobacco and female sex are evidenced, which are negative factors when carrying out treatment for hyperthyroidism.


1988 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanji Kasagi ◽  
Yasuhiro Iida ◽  
Hiroto Hatabu ◽  
Yasutaka Tokuda ◽  
Keisuke Arai ◽  
...  

Abstract. Clinical usefulness of thyroid-stimulating antibodies (TSab) and TSH-binding inhibitor immunoglobulins (TBII) for predicting the prognosis in patients with Graves' disease after cessation of antithyroid drug treatment was evaluated, and compared with that of T3 suppression test and goitre size. Among 46 patients who had been euthyroid on a maintenance dose of antithyroid drugs for at least one year and had discontinued taking medicine, 16 relapsed within one year (group 1), 7 relapsed later than 1 year (group 2), and 23 patients remained in remission for more than 1 year (group 3). Incidence of TSab, TBII, T3 nonsuppressibility and large goitre (transverse diameter longer than means of the values for the 46 patients: ≥ 4.36 cm in females; ≥ 4.74 cm in males) determined at the time of discontinuation of treatment was 87.5% (14/16), 56.3% (9/16), 78.6% (11/14) and 81.3% (13/16) in group 1; 66.7% (4/6), 28.6% (2/7), 50.0% (3/6), and 57.1% (4/7) in group 2, and 56.5% (13/23), 24.1% (5/23), 35.7% (8/23), and 26.1% (6/23) in group 3, respectively. All relapsed patients showed remarkable increases in both TSab and TBII activities at the time of relapse. High incidence of TSab in patients remaining in remission suggests that a reduced functional reserve of the thyroid, probably owing to destructive changes and/or shrinkage of the gland, may cause impaired responses to TSab and is involved in the cause of remission. Development of blocking type of TBII was not considered to be a cause of remission. Remission was predictable in all patients with any two of the indices such as negative TSab, positive T3 suppressibility, and small goitre.


1987 ◽  
Vol 116 (1_Suppl) ◽  
pp. S312-S317 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Benker ◽  
D. Reinwein ◽  
H. Creutzig ◽  
H. Hirche ◽  
W. D. Alexander ◽  
...  

Abstract. In spite of the long-established use of antithyroid drugs, there are many unsettled questions connected with this treatment of Graves' disease. There is a lack of controlled prospective trials studying the results of antithyroid drug therapy while considering the many variables such as disease heterogeneity, regional differences, drug dosage and duration of treatment. Therefore, a multicenter study has been set up in order to compare the effects of two fixed doses of methimazole (10 vs 40 mg) with thyroid hormone supplementation on the clinical, biochemical and immunological course of Graves' disease and on remission rates. Experience accumulated so far suggests that treatment is safe using either 10 or 40 mg of methimazole. While there is a tendency for an advantage of the higher dose within the first weeks (higher effectiveness in controlling hyperthyroidism), this difference is not significant. The impact of dosage on remission rates remains to be shown.


1999 ◽  
pp. 332-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
U Schiemann ◽  
R Gellner ◽  
B Riemann ◽  
G Schierbaum ◽  
J Menzel ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: Graves' disease leads to thyroid enlargement and to reduction of tissue echogenicity. Our purpose was to correlate grey scale ultrasonography of the thyroid gland with clinical and laboratory findings in patients with Graves' disease. DESIGN: Fifty-three patients with Graves'disease were included in our study, 100 euthyroid volunteers served as control group. Free thyroxine (FT(4)), TSH and TRAb (TSH receptor antibodies) values were measured and correlated with sonographic echogenicity of the thyroid gland. METHODS: All patients and control persons underwent ultrasonographical histogram analyses under standardized conditions. Mean densities of the thyroid tissues were determined in grey scales (GWE). RESULTS: Compared with controls with homogeneous thyroid lobes of normal size (25.6 +/- 2.0GWE, mean +/- S.D.) echogenicity in patients with Graves' disease was significantly lower (21.3 +/- 3. 3GWE, mean +/- S.D., P < 0.0001). Among the patients with Graves' disease significant differences of thyroid echo levels were revealed for patients with suppressed (20.4 +/- 3.1 GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=34) and normalized TSH values (22.5 +/- 3.6GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=19, P < 0.02). Significantly lower echogenicities were also measured in cases of persistent elevated TRAb levels (19.9 +/- 2.9GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=31) in comparison with normal TRAb levels (22.9 +/- 3.5 GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=22, P < 0.0015). No correlation could be verified between echogenicity and either still elevated or already normalized FT(4) values or the thyroid volume. In coincidence of hyperthyroidism and Graves' ophthalmopathy (19.7 +/- 3.5GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=23) significantly lower echogenicity was measured than in the absence of ophthalmological symptoms (22.3 +/- 3.3GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=30, P < 0.016). Patients needing active antithyroid drug treatment revealed significantly lower thyroid echogenicity (20.3 +/- 3.1 GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=40) than patients in remission (23.7 +/- 3.4 GWE, mean +/- S.D., n=13, P < 0.001). Statistical evaluation was carried out using Student's t-test. CONCLUSIONS: Standardized grey scale histogram analysis allows for supplementary judgements of thyroid function and degree of autoimmune activity in Graves' disease. Whether these values help to estimate the risk of recurrence of hyperthyroidism after withdrawal of antithyroid medication should be evaluated in a prospective study.


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