Effectiveness of Fixed Dose Radioactive Iodine (RAI) for the Treatment of Hyperthyroidism: Experience of a Teaching Hospital in South West Nigeria/Sabit Doz Radyoaktif Iyot (RAI) Tedavisinin Etkinligi: Güney Bati Nijerya'daki Bir Egitim Hastanesinin Deneyimi

Using radioactive iodine (RAI) as the first line therapy for Graves' hyperthyroidism and as the treatment of choice for relapsed Graves' disease is increasing in recent times. However, there has been little consensus on the most appropriate dose to use. So this study is to determine the response of hyperthyroidism to fixed doses of 370 MBq and 555 MBq RAI therapies and determine the incidence of hypothyroidism at 6 months post therapy. Hyperthyroid patients' case records treated with radioiodine was retrospectively reviewed to determine the response rate of hyperthyroidism to the two fixed dose regimens. The response for fixed doses of 370 MBq and 555 MBq were similar (100%). Also, the incidence of hypothyroidism in these subjects which was 66.6% with fixed dose of 370 MBq and 62.5% with fixed dose of 555 MBq within 6 months post RAI therapy were similar. SRAI is highly effective for the treatment of hyperthyroidism, with a cure rate of 100%. However, it has proved impossible to determine a fixed dose regimen for individual patients accurately to guarantee an euthyroid state.