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Use of Thyroid Hormones in Hypothyroid and Euthyroid Patients: A 2020 THESIS Questionnaire Survey of Members of the Swedish Endocrine Society

BACKGROUND: The standard treatment of hypothyroidism is levothyroxine (LT-4). However, there are several controversies regarding treatment of hypothyroid patients. AIM: To investigate the Swedish endocrinologists’ use of thyroid hormones in hypothyroid and euthyroid individuals. METHODS: Physician m...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Planck, Tereza, Lantz, Mikael, Perros, Petros, Papini, Enrico, Attanasio, Roberto, Nagy, Endre V., Hegedüs, Laszlo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8687360/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34938274
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.795111
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: The standard treatment of hypothyroidism is levothyroxine (LT-4). However, there are several controversies regarding treatment of hypothyroid patients. AIM: To investigate the Swedish endocrinologists’ use of thyroid hormones in hypothyroid and euthyroid individuals. METHODS: Physician members of the Swedish Endocrine Society (SEF) were invited by e-mail to participate in an online survey investigating this topic. RESULTS: Out of the eligible 411 members, 116 (28.2%) responded. The majority (98.9%) stated that L-T4 is the treatment of choice. However, around 50% also prescribed liothyronine (L-T3) or a combination of L-T4+L-T3 in their practice. Combination therapy was mostly (78.5%) used in patients with persistent hypothyroid symptoms despite biochemical euthyroidism on L-T4 treatment. Most respondents prescribed L-T4 tablets and did not expect any major changes with alternative formulations such as soft-gel capsules or liquid formulations in situations influencing the bioavailability of L-T4. In euthyroid patients, 49.5% replied that treatment with thyroid hormones was never indicated, while 47.3% would consider L-T4 for euthyroid infertile women with high thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibody levels. CONCLUSION: The treatment of choice for hypothyroidism in Sweden is L-T4 tablets. Combination therapy with L-T4+L-T3 tablets was considered for patients with persistent symptoms despite biochemical euthyroidism. Soft-gel capsules and liquid solutions of L-T4 were infrequently prescribed. Swedish endocrinologists’ deviation from endocrine society guidelines merits further study.