title: Efficiency of radioactive I-131 therapy in geriatric patients with toxic nodular goiter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The success of I-131 therapy in geriatric patients who were referred to an endocrinology clinic with toxic nodular goiter and who lived in iodine-deficiency regions was studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients older than 60 years who received I-131 therapy were included via retrospective data analyses. Fifty-nine patients between 60 and 82 years of age were enrolled in the study. The patients received an oral capsular form of I-131 (10-25 mCi) and were followed up for 1 year with clinical and laboratory results. Euthyroid or hypothyroid status at the end of the year after treatment was deemed to be a response to treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 21 (36%) male and 38 (64%) female patients, 29 (49%) had a solitary toxic nodule and 30 (51%) had toxic multinodular goiter. Twenty-nine (49%) of the patients received propylthiouracil therapy. At the end of the year, 38 (64%) patients were euthyroid, 11 (19%) were hypothyroid, and 10 (17%) were thyrotoxic. Forty-nine (83%) patients who were euthyroid and hypothyroid were considered responders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Geriatric patients with toxic nodular goiter were shown to have a high response rate to I-131 therapy. Thus, we suggest that radioactive iodine treatment should be the first-line treatment in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Duzce University School of Medicine, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düzce, Turkey. melihenginerkan@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Melih Engin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Erkan
authors.forename: Hilmi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Demirin
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aşik
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Celbek
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Güngör
authors.forename: Ahmet Semih
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Doğan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006044:Goiter, Nodular / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013971:Thyrotoxicosis / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes