Faster assessment of patients receiving unnecessary thyroid treatment: concise communication

Forty-five consecutive patients on thyroid hormone treatment without obvious indication were evaluated. Twenty-five of these cases were found to have no evidence of thyroid disease. Biochemical testing was not helpful in making the diagnosis of hypothyroidism in the majority of thyroid-treated hypothyroid patients. Normal technetium images were obtained in 25 patients, 22 of which had no thyroid disease. In contrast, abnormal technetium images were obtained in 20 patients, 16 of whom were thought to be hypothyroid, and one of whom developed a goiter within 2 mo after discontinuing levothyroxine. The use of technetium imaging seems useful for the rapid (20 min) evaluation of those patients likely to benefit from discontinuing thyroid medication.