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Thyroid hormone is frequently prescribed to reduce the size of nontoxic goiter, but previous studies of this treatment have had various methodologic defects. This 18- month randomized study examines the efficacy of treatment with suppressive doses of thyroid hormone.
Seventy-eight patients with nontoxic goiters, most of which were multinodular, received L-thyroxine, L-thyroxine plus carbimazole, or placebo. (Carbimazole, an antithyroid drug available in Europe, suppresses thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins). After 9 months, shrinkage of the gland (as determined by ultrasonography) occurred in 58, 35, and 5 percent of patients in the three groups, respectively. Patients who responded were more likely to have suppression of thyroid-stimulatin…