Postpartum recurrence of Graves' hyperthyroidism can be prevented by the continuation of antithyroid drugs during pregnancy.

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf)

Division of Nephrology, Endocrinology and Vascular Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.

Published: October 2002

Objective: Previous studies recommend the discontinuation of antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy during pregnancy in women with well-controlled Graves' hyperthyroidism (GH). In this study, we investigated whether this termination of ATD therapy during pregnancy is beneficial in terms of postpartum GH recurrence.

Design: A nonrandomized, retrospective study.

Patients: Sixty-five pregnant GH patients treated with maintenance doses of ATDs were assigned into two groups: ATD therapy was discontinued before delivery in Group 1, but continued during pregnancy and after delivery in Group 2.

Measurements: The prevalence of postpartum recurrence or exacerbation of GH within 1 year after delivery was examined. Serum T4, T3 TSH, and TSH receptor antibody levels were measured.

Results: In Group 1, 70.8% (17/24) of patients suffered a recurrence of GH within 1 year after delivery. In contrast, a postpartum exacerbation of GH was observed in only 29% (12/41) of patients in Group 2 (P < 0.01). Both exacerbations and recurrences of GH appeared primarily within 4-6 months after delivery. Apparent neonatal hypothyroidism and malformations were not observed in the offspring of either group.

Conclusion: Continuing antithyroid drug therapy throughout pregnancy prevents postpartum recurrence of Graves' hyperthyroidism without resulting in neonatal hypothyroidism or malformations.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2265.2002.01615.xDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

postpartum recurrence
12
graves' hyperthyroidism
12
atd therapy
12
therapy pregnancy
12
recurrence graves'
8
antithyroid drug
8
delivery group
8
year delivery
8
neonatal hypothyroidism
8
hypothyroidism malformations
8

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!