TOXIC MANIFESTATIONS OF THIOURACIL THERAPY

Abstract

Increasing evidence of the usefulness of thiouracil in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis 1 has been accompanied by the appearance of many reports concerning the toxicity of this drug. Not infrequently these published reports refer to isolated cases or are unaccompanied by full numerical data from the series involved. It is possible, therefore, that they may give an erroneous impression of the frequency of toxic reactions. Before the usefulness and final place of this drug can be settled, we must be able to balance its toxic manifestations against its pharmacologic advantages, and for this reason an accurate estimate of the incidence of severe toxic manifestations in patients under treatment with the drug should be a useful adjunct to our knowledge. Therefore it has seemed advisable to gather together data from a large group of patients treated with thiouracil so that the actual incidence of toxic manifestations might be studied in relation