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Effect of Surgical Stress on Serum Thyroid Hormones in Hyperthyroidism
Author(s) -
Engler D.,
Donaldson E. B.,
Stockigt J. R.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1978.tb04498.x
Subject(s) - medicine , euthyroid , hormone , triiodothyronine , thyroid hormones , thyroid , surgical stress , endocrinology , surgery
Summary: Effect of surgical stress on serum thyroid hormones in hyperthyroidism. The effect of elective non‐thyroidal surgery on serum total and free triiodothyronine (T 3 ), reverse T 3 and thyroxine (TJ has been studied in one patient with mild, untreated typical hyperthyroidism, one with mild T 3 toxicosis and in four euthyroid patients. The high T 3 level of typical hyperthyroidism became normal post‐operatively, decreasing to 47% of the mean pre‐operative level 24 hours after surgery, while total reverse T 3 doubled. In euthyroid subjects T 3 decreased to 57 ± 6 (SEM)% of the preoperative level 24 hours after surgery, associated with a doubling of reverse T 3 . The patient with T 3 toxicosis, whose surgical stress was less severe, showed a 17% decrease in T 3 without change in reverse T 3 . Because the inverse post‐operative changes in T 3 and reverse T 3 described in euthyroid subjects also occur in typical hyperthyroidism, measurement of serum T 3 may be diag‐nostically unreliable after surgical stress.