source: Clinical Thyroidology for the Public

year: 2019

Graves’ disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the United States. Graves’ disease can be treated with medication (anti-thyroid drugs), surgery or radioactive iodine therapy. While the idealistic aim for treatment is to leave the patient with normal thyroid function long term, this is difficult to attain. In Europe and Asia, anti-thyroid drugs are frequently used as a first choice treatment.

However, many patients will have a relapse of their hyperthyroidism after a course of anti-thyroid drugs. Because of this, in the US, many patients are treated with a goal of destroying the thyroid with radioactive iodine therapy, leaving the patient with stable hypothyroidism and using thyroid hormone as a replacement.

Radioactive iodine therapy has become less popular recently with more patients started on antithyroid drugs. Since many people still feel that radioactive iodine therapy is a good treatment for hyperthyroidism, this study was done to review the response to radioactive iodine therapy as an initial treatment for Graves’ disease, including its’ usefulness and side effects.

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