THE PRECIPITABLE IODINE OF SERUM IN PREGNANCY COMPLICATED BY DISORDERS OF THE THYROID 1

Abstract

The clinical course and the SPI (precipitable iodine of serum) during pregnancies of 16 patients with disorders of thyroid function have been analyzed. Treatment was limited to the use of thiourea, propylthiouracil, Lugol''s soln. and dried thyroid. The hyperthyroid patients became and remained euthyroid with concns. of SPI characteristic of normal pregnancy, distinctly above those of normal non-pregnant women. There is some evidence that they were able to tolerate in pregnancy concns. greater than 10 ug.%, the highest value observed in euthyroid pregnant subjects. The data suggest that the requirements for antithyroid drugs may diminish during pregnancy and increase after delivery. The implications of these phenomena with respect to the nature and significance of the high SPI of pregnancy are discussed.