Sir, Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis is well known for being difficult to treat. Thionamide drugs often fail,' and if possible amiodarone should be stopped. Recently there has been much work and discussion on the use of thionamides combined with potassium perchlorate, and the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of this condition. A 49 year old man presented to clinic having lost 2 stones ...

Case report A 28-year-old Indian woman presented to the surgical out-patient clinic with complaints of weightloss and a neck swelling. On examination the surgeon found that the patient had a smooth goitre, lid lag and a tachycardia of 120 per min. The serum thyroxine (T4) level was 215 nmol/l (normal 60-135). She was started on carbimazole 10 mg three times daily. It was however, not known that...

Recent changes in New Zealand have altered the availability of propylthiouracil. It is no longer a ‘funded’ medication but is only available via an ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ application to the Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC). Because of this a number of patients in our practice were changed from propylthiouracil to carbimazole. We report a patient who developed agranulocytosis foll...

INTRODUCTION Propylthiouracil (PTU) has been used for the treatment of hyperthyroidism since the 1940s, but over the years reports of significant hepatotoxicity have come forth, particularly in children. This led to a black box warning being issued by the US FDA in 2009, followed by a similar warning by the European Medicines Agency and the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Age...

A 32-year-old lady was admitted with complaints of recurrent episodes of vomiting and loose stools associated with tenesmus and blood and mucus. She also had a neck swelling since 11 years of age, and had features of thyrotoxicosis for five to six months. She responded to balsalazide only after her thyroid status was controlled with carbimazole.

Twenty-five children aged 3 to 13 years who had been exposed in utero to carbimazole were assessed physically and psychologically to evaluate the long-term effects of the drug on growth and development. 2 children had congenital malformations but all had normal pituitary-thyroid function and appeared to have grown and developed normally.

Two thyrotoxic patients with significant hypercalcaemia are described. The hypercalcaemia failed to suppress with hydrocortisone, propranolol and calcitonin but serum calcium fell rapidly to normal with carbimazole treatment. Both patients were subsequently treated surgically and at operation no evidence of parathyroid disease was found. Thyroid disease must be controlled before co-existing par...

Carbimazole, in 3 divided daily doses, is commonly prescribed for the treatment of thyrotoxicosis. However, based on its long intra-thyroid half-life, the drug may be effective when used as a single or twice daily dose. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of once, twice or thrice daily doses of carbimazole on thyroid function in patients with thyrotoxicosis. Seventy previously unt...