Strategy for antithyroid drug therapy in Graves' disease

A critical review of the literature concerning the treatment of patients with Graves' disease discusses the multitude of protocols used. Prospective studies of patients treated with carbimazole alone for a predetermined duration reveal that the remission rate after 6 years' follow-up is between 40 and 50%. The incidence of treatment duration on remission rates is discussed: the authors think that long-term treatments give better results than short-term treatments. Nevertheless, no standard duration for treatment can be indicated and the most appropriate attitude is an adaptation to each individual case. Various criteria which could modify the prognosis are discussed: small goiter size and normalization of early iodine uptake improve the prognosis. While better results were obtained after high doses of carbimazole in a preliminary work, further study is necessary to clarify this point.