Reversibility of Severe Hypothyroidism with Supplementary Iodine in Patients with Endemic Cretinism

The reversibility of thyroid dysfunction in children with endemic cretinism treated with supplemental iodine is unknown. To study this question we conducted a five-month follow-up of 51 patients with cretinism (age 14 and below), who were randomly assigned to treatment (0.5 ml of intramuscular iodized oil) and control groups. The geometric mean initial serum level of thyrotropin (223 μU per milliliter; SD, 97 to 513) and the mean (±SD) initial serum level of thyroxine (1.0±1.2 μg per deciliter) indicated that all patients had severe hypothyroidism. Within one month after receiving the iodized oil, 13 of 14 of the younger patients (