Treatment of goitrous hypothyroidism with iodized oil supplementation in an area of iodine deficiency

In order to investigate the effect of iodized oil administration on the thyroid status of male hypothyroid children and adolescents residing in an area of iodine deficiency, 32 apparently normal school boys with increased serum TSH, aged 7 to 15 years, were given a single intramuscular injection of 480 mg iodized oil. Four months after injection, serum T4 increased from 60 +/- 23 to 118 +/- 24 nmol/l and serum TSH decreased from 39 +/- 33 to 2.5 +/- 1.2 mU/l. Serum T4 remained unchanged while a further decline in TSH to 1.3 +/- 0.9 and 1.4 +/- 1.3 mU/l was observed 7 and 12 months after injection, respectively. There was a small but significant reduction in serum T3, FT3I as well as in the prevalence and severity of goiter 1 year following iodine treatment. Neither the age of the subject nor the severity of hypothyroidism affected the thyroid response to iodine treatment. It is concluded that iodized oil injection is an effective and convenient treatment for goitrous hypothyroid youngsters in iodine-deficient areas.