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Antithyroid antibodies during amiodarone treatment
1III Medical Department and Biochemistry Laboratory, fatebenefratelli-Oftalmico Hospital, Milan, Italy.
Acta Endocrinologica
|August 1, 1989
Summary
Antithyroid antibodies rarely develop in patients treated with amiodarone or other antiarrhythmic drugs. The study found no significant difference in antibody appearance between amiodarone and other antiarrhythmic drug groups.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Cardiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Amiodarone is an effective antiarrhythmic drug.
- Amiodarone can cause thyroid dysfunction.
- The role of autoimmunity in amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the incidence of antithyroid antibodies in patients treated with amiodarone versus other antiarrhythmic drugs.
- To assess the relationship between amiodarone treatment and the development of antithyroid antibodies.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study involving 44 euthyroid patients without goiter.
- Patients were divided into two groups: amiodarone (n=23) and other antiarrhythmic drugs (n=21).
- Antimicrosomal and antithyroglobulin antibodies were measured at baseline and at multiple time points up to 180 days.
Main Results:
- Antithyroid antibodies were rarely detected in the amiodarone group (6.7% and 5.5% at different time points).
- In the control group, antithyroid antibodies were detected in 4.8% at baseline and 11.8% at 60 days.
- No patients in either group showed clinical or laboratory signs of thyroid dysfunction.
Conclusions:
- Antithyroid antibodies rarely appear in patients treated with amiodarone and do not significantly differ from those on other antiarrhythmic drugs.
- The role of autoimmunity in amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction in patients without pre-existing thyroid disease remains unclear.