Abstract:
The T
3 suppression test,jndged by the serum T
4 and the 4-h thyroidal
131I uptake,was carried out in 67 patients with Graves’ disease 2 weeks to 3 months following cessation of an tithyroid drug therapy and repeated in 40 of these patients 12—18 months later.A good correlation was shown between the decrease of the serum T
4 and the per cent fall of the thyroidal
131I uptake before and after T
3 administration(r=0.659,P<0.01).Consistency of the suppressibility or the unsuppressibility by the two indices was observed in 82.1% of the 67 patients at initial examination and in 87.5% of the 40 patients at re-examination.Relapse occurred in 6.9% of the patients with the suppressibility by serum T
4 and in3.2% of the patients with the suppressibility by thyroidal
131I uptake(P>0.05).It occurred in 34.2% of patients with unsu ppressibility by the serum T
4 and in 38.9% of the patients with unsuppressibility by the thyroidal
131I uptake(P> 0.05).There was significant difference between the relapse retes in patients with suppressibility ane the patients with unsuppressibility by either of the serum T
4 and the thyroidal
131I uptake(P< 0.05).The present study showed that the two indices of the test have a close relationship and both could be useful in predicting prognosis of Graves’ disease.