Management of Thyrotoxicosis
Management of Thyrotoxicosis
The term thyrotoxicosis refers to the clinical and biochemical manifestations of exposure to excessive quantities of thyroid hormones, whereas hyperthyroidism implies that these hormones have originated in the thyroid gland. Whichever term is used, it follows logically that treatment must proceed from an understanding of the cause of the condition, as well as the age and general health of the patient and the severity of disease. Obviously, therapy for a toxic multinodular goiter in an elderly woman would differ from that for a young woman with the usually transient thyrotoxicosis associated with postpartum thyroiditis. One convenient way of thinking about this is to divide the varieties of thyrotoxicosis into 2 groups, those associated with high radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) and those associated with low RAIU ( Table 1 ).
The term thyrotoxicosis refers to the clinical and biochemical manifestations of exposure to excessive quantities of thyroid hormones, whereas hyperthyroidism implies that these hormones have originated in the thyroid gland. Whichever term is used, it follows logically that treatment must proceed from an understanding of the cause of the condition, as well as the age and general health of the patient and the severity of disease. Obviously, therapy for a toxic multinodular goiter in an elderly woman would differ from that for a young woman with the usually transient thyrotoxicosis associated with postpartum thyroiditis. One convenient way of thinking about this is to divide the varieties of thyrotoxicosis into 2 groups, those associated with high radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) and those associated with low RAIU ( Table 1 ).
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