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Efficiency of radioactive I-131 therapy in geriatric patients with toxic nodular goiter

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Abstract

Background and aims: 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. Materials and 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. Conclusion: 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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Düzce üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Nükleer Tıp Anabilim Dalı, 81620, Konuralp, Düzce, Turkey

    Melih Engin Erkan, Muhammed Aşık, Mustafa Yıldırım & Ahmet Semih Doğan

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Duzce University School of Medicine, Duzce, Turkey

    Hilmi Demirin

  3. Duzce University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Düzce University, Düzce, Turkey

    Gökhan Celbek, Yusuf Aydın & Adem Güngör

Authors
  1. Melih Engin Erkan
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  2. Hilmi Demirin
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  3. Muhammed Aşık
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  4. Gökhan Celbek
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  5. Mustafa Yıldırım
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  6. Yusuf Aydın
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  8. Ahmet Semih Doğan
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Correspondence to Melih Engin Erkan.

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Erkan, M.E., Demirin, H., Aşık, M. et al. Efficiency of radioactive I-131 therapy in geriatric patients with toxic nodular goiter. Aging Clin Exp Res 24, 714–717 (2012). https://doi.org/10.3275/8759

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3275/8759

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