title: Transient hyperthyroidism after withdrawal of antithyroid drugs in patients with Graves' disease.
abstract: The development of silent thyroiditis in patients with a history of Graves' disease is common, especially in the postpartum period. We describe herein patients with Graves' disease who developed transient hyperthyroidism but not silent thyroiditis after withdrawal of antithyroid drug (ATD). If such patients are diagnosed as recurrence of Graves' disease, they may receive ATD or radioiodine therapy unnecessarily. We investigated the characteristics of these patients to prevent unnecessary therapy. We retrospectively studied 22 patients with Graves' disease who showed transient thyrotoxicosis after withdrawal of ATD. Two of 22 patients were male and the mean ages (+/- SD) were 33.7 +/- 12.6 yr. We observed these patients for 28.5 +/- 12.8 (mean +/- SD; range 12-53) months after transient thyrotoxicosis, and measured TSH, FT4, and TSH binding inhibitor immunoglobulin in sera. Radioiodine uptake was measured in 6 of them. The radioiodine uptake in the 4 patients was not suppressed (27.5%, 28.0%, 32.7%, 38.1%). These uptake levels indicate that their thyrotoxicosis was not caused by silent thyroiditis. Most of the 22 patients became euthyroid within 6 months. This study suggests a new therapeutic option as follows: in the case of young patients with mild thyrotoxicosis after withdrawal of ATD, physicians should follow them up for one month without medication unless they have unbearable symptoms or complications.
authors.affiliation: Kuma Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
authors.forename: Sumihisa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tamai
authors.forename: Hidemi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohye
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukata
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuma
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miyauchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D013956:Antithyroid Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome; D013971:Thyrotoxicosis / Q000139:chemically induced; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013956:Antithyroid Agents