Subclinical Thyroid Disorders: Clinical Significance and When to Treat?

The clinical significance of subclinical thyroid dysfunction.

Subclinical thyroid disease (SCTD) is defined as serum free T(4) and free T(3) levels within their respective reference ranges in the presence of abnormal serum TSH levels. SCTD is being diagnosed more frequently in clinical practice in young and middle-aged people as well as in the elderly. However, the clinical significance of subclinical thyroid dysfunction is much debated. Subclinical hyper...

Subclinical thyroid disease: to treat or not to treat?

Subclinical Hypothyroidism: When to Treat, When to Watch

Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and several factors related to atherosclerosis, including increased C-reactive protein levels and impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. However, considerable controversy exists about screening for and treating this thyroid disorder. Thyroxine therapy lowers elevated LDL cholesterol l...

Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Children: Natural History and When to Treat

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is a quite common disorder in the pediatric age group. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the studies investigating the natural course of SH and the effects of replacement therapy with levothyroxine in childhood. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE (1990 to 2012) and identified 14 articles suitable to be included. SH is a benign p...

Subclinical Hyper and Hypo Thyroidism - When to Treat

Subclinical hypothyroidism is defined as an increased serum TSH in the presence of a normal serum FT4 concentration. Increased refers to values above and normal to values within population-based reference ranges of these hormones. It is however not so simple to diagnose accurately subclinical hypothyroidism in day-to-day practice applying this biochemical definition. Diagnosis of subclinical hy...