Effect of pretreatment with carbimazole on early outcome following radio-iodine (131I) therapy.

Of a group of 55 thyrotoxic patients given therapeutic radio-iodine (131I), 24 were made euthyroid with carbimazole before 131I: the remainder were given 131I alone. Carbimazole was discontinued 5 days before 131I was administered. By 3 months after 131I treatment there was a greater incidence of hypothyroidism in the group given 131I alone (42% vs 25%), but a lower incidence of persistent thyrotoxicosis (16% vs 46%), (P less than 0.05). One year after treatment a similar proportion of each group had persistent thyrotoxicosis (21% vs 23%), but there remained a lower incidence of hypothyroidism in the group pretreated with carbimazole (25% vs 45%). It is suggested that pretreatment with carbimazole reduces the degree of radiation induced thyroid damage.