[Normalization of the functional regulation of the thyroid as a criterion of the remission of diffuse toxic goiter following antithyroid treatment].

Triiodothyronine test was applied to 72 patients with toxic goiter treated with antithyroid drugs to reveal whether the regulation of thyroid function was normal. During a one-year observation period the patients underwent check-ups every third month, then during three years the examination was performed every half a year. A final examination was 10 years after the treatment. In the process of treatment the regulation of thyroid function recovered in 44 (68.7%) out of 64 patients, but further the relapse of goiter was recorded in 10 of them. Among 20 patients whose regulation of thyroid function failed to be normalized after a 18-months treatment the relapse was noted in 17 patients (85%). 27 patients (42.2%) had a relapse ten years after the exposure. The lack of normal regulation of thyroid function revealed with T3 test permits the relapse of toxic goiter to be predicted.