Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a drug containing both liothyronine and thyroxine (T3 + T4) in hypothyroid patients who were treated, but not cured, with thyroxine (T4 alone). Design: Practice-based retrospective study of patients' records. Materials and Methods: The records of 89 hypothyroid patients, treated elsewhere with thyroxine but still with hypothyroidism, seen in a private practice in Antwerp, Belgium, were compared with those of 832 untreated hypothyroid patients, over the same period of time (May 1984-July 1997). Results: The same criteria were applied to both groups: a score of eight main symptoms of hypothyroidism and the 24 h urine free T3 dosage. The group of 89 patients, treated elsewhere with T4, but still complaining of symptoms of hypothyroidism, did not really differ from the group of untreated hypothyroid patients as far as symptoms and 24 h urine free T3 were concerned. A number of these patients were followed up during treatment with natural desiccated thyroid (NDT): 40 T4 treated patients and 278 untreated patients. Both groups responded equally favourably to NDT. Conclusions: Combined T3 + T4 treatment seems to be more effective than treatment with T4 alone in hypothyroid patients.