Iodized oil (1 ml im) was given to 58 goitrous patients from a mildly
iodine-deficient area in Greece.
Goiter size, urinary
iodine, and serum T4, T3RU, T3, rT3, TSH,
thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), and thyroid
autoantibodies were measured before and 1, 3, and 6 months after the injection.
Goiter size decreased. Serum T4 remained relatively constant, but TBG decreased and therefore T3RU and FTI increased. Serum T3 and rT3 initially decreased (P less than 0.001) and then increased at the sixth month (P less than 0.001), both showing roughly parallel changes. Serum TSH, initially normal (1.42 +/- 0.11 (SEM) mU/liter), decreased to 0.65 +/- 0.01 and 0.76 +/- 0.05 mU/liter at the third and sixth month (difference from baseline P less than 0.001). Thyroid
autoantibodies, both against
thyroglobulin and the microsomal
antigen, were undetectable before treatment, but became positive in 42.8% of the patients 3 and 6 months later. Three patients developed transient
hyperthyroidism. This occurred 3 or 6 months
after treatment, and was associated with high titers of thyroid
autoantibodies. These results indicate that: 1) transient
hyperthyroidism may occur after the administration of
iodized oil, possibly because of thyroid tissue
necrosis and leakage of
hormones, and 2) serum TBG decreases after
iodized oil, a finding not previously reported and one whose cause is not known.