A questionnaire survey on the management of Graves' orbitopathy in China: A comparison with Europe and Latin-America

OBJECTIVE: Management of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) continues to be a challenge to clinical endocrinologists. In the last few years, surveys on GO management have succeeded in elucidating trends in Europe and Latin America. To determine how endocrinologists in China assess and treat patients with GO and gain insight into how to make the management of this disease more uniform and standardized. METHODS: Based on the questionnaire used in the European survey on GO, a questionnaire in China was drafted and circulated to the members of Chinese Society of Endocrinology (CSE) during the annual meeting. RESULTS: A total of 124 valid responses were analysed. Almost all respondents (94.4%) claimed that a multidisciplinary approach for GO management was valuable. Over 80% of the participants advocated the assessment of exophthalmometry, vision, visual fields by perimetry, eye movements, and fundoscopy. Glucocorticoids were preferred as the first-line therapy by 92.7% of respondents, among them, 59.7% choose the intravenous route. The treatment strategy for GO with intravenous glucocorticoids therapy still remains debatable. Anti-thyroid drugs (ATDs) were the most common choice (72.6%) for first-line therapy of coexisting hyperthyroidism. Treatment options for GO were very similar among Chinese, Latin-American and European respondents, whereas radioactive iodine and surgical treatment were more often indicated for co-existing hyperthyroidism in China. CONCLUSION: The appropriate treatment for patients with GO is controversial even among thyroid specialists. Further training of thyroid specialists, easier access of patients to multidisciplinary centres and establishment of practice guidelines are required for the management of this condition in China.