Low Remission After Therapy for Graves Disease

Abstract

Forty-four patients with Graves disease (diffuse toxic goiter) were treated with antithyroid drugs for periods ranging from seven to 46 months and averaging 17.6 months. The incidence of remission was disappointingly low. Remission occurred in four of 35 (11.4%) patients treated for longer than 12 months or in six of the 44 (13.6%) patients in the total treatment group. The patients were followed up in a locale in which recent increases in daily iodine intake have been observed. There may be an inverse relationship between the increasing average daily dietary intake of iodine and the remission rate that may be anticipated after antithyroid drug therapy.